For Everything a Reason
by Cosette Everdeen
Summary: Inseparable brother and sister from District 5 are sent to the 72nd Games. Each has their own reasons for returning home, but only one can come out alive. So how far can they make it, together or apart? Suspense, drama, action, tragedy, and even romance. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

_Hope is the thing with feathers _  
_That perches in the soul, _  
_And sings the tune-without the words, _  
_And never stops at all,_

_And sweetest in the gale is heard; _  
_And sore must be the storm _  
_That could abash the little bird _  
_That kept so many warm._

_I've heard it in the chillest land, _  
_And on the strangest sea; _  
_Yet, never, in extremity, _  
_It asked a crumb of me._

_(Emily Dickinson)_

* * *

One more year.

That was what Sparrow Jacturna was thinking as she woke up way too early that Reaping Day. She was seventeen years old, and if she could get through this ceremony, she'd only have one more year to be chosen. If she could just avoid having her name drawn two more times, she would be safe for the rest of her life.

Today was the last time her older brother would ever be in the drawing. Evander was a year older, and his name was in there seven times. Hers was in there six. And today was the first time their younger brother Arden risked being chosen. The Jacturnas were fortunate; they worked hard enough to supply their family of two parents and four children so that none of them had to apply for tessera. There were plenty more children who stood a much higher chance of being sent to the slaughter.

She couldn't stay in bed anymore, even though it was just barely dawn when she awoke. Her hands fidgeted nervously and she kept sighing as she went into the bathroom, quiet as a mouse across the wooden floorboards. Her brothers and parents were still sound asleep, and none of them knew what could await them that afternoon. Maybe they'd be safe once more; maybe one of them would be in the arena in a matter of days. No one could ever be sure.

She shivered as the cold water rushed over her bare skin and her thick honey-colored hair. Thinking about Reaping Day was really of no use; it was going to come whether she liked it or not. The idea of Arden or Evander's names being drawn made her stomach churn and she swallowed, leaning her hands against the shower wall and just standing there for a moment, soaking herself. It could be worse. They could live in one of the districts much, much worse off then Five. At least District Five stood a chance, both at home and in the arena.

"Sparrow! Let Arden in!" Irene knocked at the door, which startled her daughter into turning off the shower. She stepped out and wrapped a towel around her wet body, embarrassed. How long had she been in there? Maybe an hour, maybe more…her thoughts had run away with her. Trying to picture who would be chosen, trying to imagine what the Capitol was really like with those lavish furnishings and outrageous clothes, trying to see what the arena would be this year…

"About time," Arden muttered as he glanced at his only sister. He was sour, understandably so. No twelve-year-old wanted to face the day where they stood a chance of being sentenced to death – nor did any other eligible child, for that matter. He shuffled into the bathroom and slammed the door shut, almost hitting Sparrow on her way out.

"Looking good," Evander winked at Sparrow. He was in a much better mood; or at least he was better at hiding whatever he really was feeling. "That your outfit for today?" he motioned to the old white towel wrapped around her frame.

"Morning, Sparrow," came a soft, sweet voice from Evander's room. There, in all her beauty, was Aurelia, Sparrow's best friend ever since she could remember. She wandered over to her husband of six months, rubbing his upper arm affectionately. "How'd you sleep?"

"Oh, I slept alright, after you two quieted down," the blonde smiled, teasing them. She laughed at the blush that spread across Aurelia's face. "I'm off to get dressed…Mom should have breakfast done soon. I'd eat now, Arden's going to be in the shower for a while."

Evander bit his lip, but he put on a smile and kissed Aurelia's cheek. "Come on, mommy," he whispered, rubbing her belly. He looked up to say something more to his sister, but she had already disappeared into her bedroom.

The dress she had this year, the same as last year, was a breezy, seafoam-green colored one. It had a bow that tied around the back and it was ruched under the breast. She dried her hair and put on the dress, staring at herself in the mirror for a few moments. What if this was the last time? What if she was chosen, and no one volunteered to take her place? It was the kind of thinking that gave children all over Panem nightmares. The Hunger Games were very real, very deadly, and very nondiscriminatory. It was sport, it was good fun, it was the event of the year for some people. For the rest, it was akin to going to one's own funeral. She couldn't imagine what it must be like for parents to watch their own child go up on stage – but something similar might happen if Arden was chosen.

She brushed through her wavy golden hair, satisfied with how she looked. It was good enough. Looks wouldn't keep anyone from being sent to the Games, though. Maybe they'd get lucky; maybe people would volunteer this year. But that was wishful thinking.

"Sparrow? Breakfast's getting cold," came Aurelia's quiet voice from outside the door. Sparrow blinked out of her daydream and opened her door, smiling, but looking exhausted and anxious at the same time.

"You got enough for both of you?" she asked, glancing at her sister-in-law's very pregnant tummy. Aurelia was due in a matter of weeks, and there was always the chance she could give birth a little early. Hopefully nothing of the sort would happen at the Reaping, though that would be one for the books.

The dark-haired girl smiled warmly and rubbed her belly. "Yes, I think he's satisfied…I'm going to go get dressed. Ev is still in the kitchen…" She patted her shoulder lovingly and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.

Sparrow nodded and went off to the kitchen, surprised that Evander had already dressed in his usual dark brown slacks and suspenders, which were over a crisp white button-down shirt. "No shower?"

"Don't care that much, sis," he laughed, drinking a cup of coffee and watching her sit across from him, scooping some eggs onto her plate. "It's sick, getting dressed up just for some stupid ceremony…I'm just going to get dirty and sweaty from being out there forever anyway, aren't I?"

She shrugged and ate a forkful of eggs, seeing their youngest sibling slip quietly into his chair. "Hey, Flynn," she said softly to the six-year-old boy, who swung his feet over the edge of his chair. He glanced at his two oldest siblings, his green eyes wide and so innocent, so sweet. "What's up, big guy?"

Flynn took a moment before speaking, pouting his full lips. "Why do you have to go?" he whispered, swallowing, his eyes glossy with tears.

Sparrow frowned and got out of her chair, kneeling next to her baby brother and holding his tiny hands in hers. "Because that's the rule, sweetheart," she said quietly. She bit her lip; seeing how upset he was broke her heart. Once upon a time she had been that little girl, asking why everyone had to enter for the chance to die. But those days had long since passed. "I know it's not very nice, but…but that's how it is here. That's how it's been for more than seventy years. Who knows, maybe things will change in the future, but for now…we just have to accept it. I wish I could do something about it, big guy, I do…Maybe someday, they'll need a hero who can change it, who can get rid of the Games…and that'll be you," she whispered, giving him a little smile and ruffling his brown hair. "Flynn Jacturna, the man from District Five who saved countless boys and girls from the cruel and evil Hunger Games!" she announced in a cheesy tone. She smiled bigger and stroked his cheek.

Evander bit his lip as he watched the two, knowing that what Sparrow was saying would probably never come true – at least, nowhere in the foreseeable future.

"But…but why do you have to go?" Flynn whimpered, sniffling and wiping his nose on the back of his hand.

Sparrow looked down at herself for a moment, trying to think of what to say without scaring him. He needed hope, not the fear that he might never see one of his siblings again. "Don't worry about that," she finally said, looking back into his eyes, which were the same color as hers. "Hope is on our side. Don't you ever, ever give up hope, no matter what happens to Ev or Arden or me, or even to you…Promise? Promise me, Flynn…"

He nodded and then wrapped his arms around her neck, and she picked him up, holding him up by his bottom. She let him nuzzle his face in her neck and rubbed his back gently, giving Evander a small smile.

They could only hope that this would be the last time Flynn would have to ask something like that.

* * *

_Author's note: My idea here was to give you a look at the Jacturnas' family life and how they all complement each other. I realize it's unusual to have such a young married couple, but it happens in the present day, so why not a hundred or so years from now? I also know that they seem much more well-off than, say, the Everdeens. But that's because District Five is one of the less impoverished districts. I did my research, but please let me know if something seems inconsistent. Thank you so much for reading, please review if you feel obliged!_


	2. Chapter 2

_A supple river of mirrors I run on  
__Where great shadows rise to the glance,  
__Flowing all forward and bringing  
__The world through my reflection._

_A voice like a ghost that is not  
__Rustle the dead in passage  
__Leaving the living chilled,  
__Wipe clear the pure glass of stone.  
_

_(Ted Hughes)_

* * *

"We should get going," Irene sighed, coming into the kitchen with her husband. She looked around the room, seeing three of their children all dressed and ready for the big event. "Where's Arden?"

"Right here," Arden mumbled, emerging from the small hallway. "Other people are leaving…can we just get it over with?"

Aurelia appeared next to him in a faded red floral dress and smiled, trying to keep her family's spirits up. "You know, they're less likely to pick the people who look happy…you, mister, ought to put a smile on that face!" She pinched his cheek and laughed sweetly, the pleasant sound ringing through the small house.

Arden couldn't help but blush and he smiled a little, much to everyone's amusement.

"Yes, let's get going," Evander announced, standing up from the kitchen table and wiping his mouth off with a napkin. He led the way, holding Aurelia's hand as they exited the house. Following him were their parents, Arden, and finally Sparrow and Flynn, who was still holding onto his older sister like a toddler would cling to his mother.

"You know I can't hold you when I wait up there with the big girls, right, Flynn?" she whispered in his ear as they walked, the sound of the ground below their feet just about the only other sound as other district folk headed to the complex outside the Justice Building.

He whimpered and nodded, but kept close to her breast anyway. "I don't like staying with momma and daddy," he whispered. "I like you better."

She blushed deeply, glad that their parents were too far ahead to have heard that. "Shh, baby, don't say things like that…Mom and dad love you so much, you're their baby…And I can't always be here, you know. Some day I have to go off and have my own babies…" She smiled faintly, but it was hard to think of a day where she wouldn't wake up having two baby brothers to care for.

More than anything, she wanted to get married and have her own children, her own family, but things hadn't worked out how she wanted them to. There had been a boy once, not very long ago. He was tall, quite handsome, with dark blond hair and blue eyes that seemed to perpetually sparkle with laughter. His smile was infectious and he could pick Sparrow up like she was a doll, spin her around until she was dizzy, then give her a kiss that would really make her weak in the knees. His name was Huxley. He had given her such joy, until about nine months ago.

"_Sorry, miss, but accidents happen. This one just happened to involve your friend."_

But she was only seventeen; she had her whole life ahead of her. Flynn was like her baby, and it was funny to think that Evander and Sparrow were bigger parent figures to him than his own mother and father.

"We must be some of the last people here," Evander noticed as they arrived at the square, just more bodies among the numerous already there. "We'll see you after, alright?" he said to his parents, kissing each of them on the cheek. He seemed so calm, so accepting of his potential fate, that it was like it was no big deal to him. He stood in line with the other boys, his blue eyes watching Aurelia at the girls' table the entire time. Everyone seemed to be staring at her pregnant belly. Young couples weren't that uncommon of an occurrence by any means, even married and pregnant ones, but it was still disturbing to see pregnant girls in the pool of potential tributes.

"Flynn, baby, I've got to go," Sparrow said quietly to her baby brother, who clung to her in denial of the fact. She blushed, stroking his soft hair and kissing his cheek. "I've got to put you down, sweetheart…come on. Nobody's going to buy that we're glued together," she managed to joke, but it was getting harder to put on a brave face with each step she took toward the registration table, where she would be pricked and prepared for the drawing.

"No," Flynn whined, but he soon gave up the struggle and let Sparrow put him down. She took him aside, getting a few spaces in line behind Aurelia. "Sparrow, I don't want you to go…"

"Shh, big guy…It'll be alright. You can keep your eyes on me, if dad holds you on his shoulders," she offered with as genuine a smile as she could make. She brushed some hair out of his eyes and sighed, getting a good look at the little boy in front of her. It seemed like he had just been a baby yesterday; this was impossible. Half his life ago, he was an infant, and in that same amount of time from now, he would have his name in the bowl.

"What's going on?" Arden asked his older brother as Evander had his finger pricked. He kept looking back at his two siblings who had trailed behind.

"He's just nervous…probably more nervous than she is, or you and I for that matter," Evander replied, giving his brother a reassuring smile. "Go on. It only takes a second, if even that. I'll get you a bandage when we get back home," he laughed quietly, seeing a couple people look at him when he did so. What kind of person found humor in Reaping Day? Especially a potential tribute themselves…

"Come back and play with me when it's done," Flynn whimpered, barely managing to hold back tears as his sister stroked his cheek and straightened him up. He looked so sweet in his little overalls and long-sleeved shirt, which Sparrow had bought with her own money. "I…I wanna play castles…"

"We will," she whispered, kissing the top of his head and standing up. "Now, go see mommy and daddy, okay? I'll see you soon," she smiled, but the sight of him so distraught had a lump forming in her throat. She kept it from turning into tears successfully enough, but it was still painful to see him disappear with her parents. Now it was her turn to wait. She was one of the last children to be pricked, and she felt completely lost as she wound up in the very back of the crowd of girls.

A few moments passed, which seemed to take an eternity, before a short man appeared on stage in a sparkling golden tuxedo. He had a grin on his face that never seemed to fade, not even for a few seconds. "Well, I believe that must be everyone! So glad you all could make it! And welcome to the seventy-second annual Hunger Games!" his funny voice announced into the microphone.

No one looked very amused, to say the least.

Everything seemed the same terrible routine from before. The short video clip explaining the story behind the Hunger Games, the usual cheesy grins and quips from Oberon Chaplet, the famed District Five escort. It was all so sickeningly, hauntingly familiar. Most of the children looked either bored, nervous, or they had completely checked out mentally. No one would admit that they enjoyed the rush of adrenaline provided by the Reaping until it was over, and they and their own family were safe.

"Shall we get things started? We'll start with the ladies…Let's see who the lucky girl representing District Five shall be! The opportunity of a lifetime, for sure!" Oberon declared with his trademark smile. He stuck his hand into one of the two glass bowls containing hundreds of tiny paper slips. He fished around for a little while, making a big show of this all-important, fateful moment. He finally picked a slip, but another was attached to it, and in the moment that he had to let one of them go, a collective gasp was heard. Some girl had just gotten away with her life, while another had been doomed with the worst of luck.

He unfurled the piece of paper. Sparrow longed to be next to Aurelia just so she would have someone to hold on to; she suddenly felt sick to her stomach. _It's me. It's me, I have to go. I'm going to die. I'm going to-_

"Aurelia Toivonen!" Oberon's voice announced into the microphone.


	3. Chapter 3

_Through the crowd, I was crying out  
__And in your place there were a thousand other faces  
__I was disappearing in plain sight  
__Heaven help me, I need to make it right_

_(Florence + the Machine)_

* * *

There came a silence so deafening, it almost knocked Sparrow off her feet. That horrible quiet was followed by murmurs and whispers that kept increasing in volume. Everyone was talking; everyone was staring at the nearly full-term young woman in the crowd.

Aurelia swallowed and her large brown eyes grew even wider. She looked around nervously at the hundreds, if not thousands of people who had gathered round. No, it was not a mistake. Her name, of all the names in that bowl, had been chosen. And it had almost been someone else instead. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, one hand on her tummy, her red floral dress flowing in the gentle breeze.

It was quiet enough that one could hear a pin drop as the crowd parted to let Aurelia through. Sparrow was going to be sick; all these people who were obviously gaping at her best friend, her sister-in-law, were just going to gawk and not do anything? It was barbaric, absolutely barbaric. They were complacent to send a heavily pregnant seventeen-year-old girl to her certain death. She didn't even want to know what Evander was thinking.

It had been about forty seconds since Aurelia's name was called. She was almost to the stage when Sparrow came bursting out of the crowd, trying to get to Aurelia before it was too late.

"Aurelia!" she called. Suddenly thousands of eyes were on her instead, and she swallowed uneasily. But she couldn't allow herself to take this back. It was necessary. It was the right thing to do, and no one else was going to do it. So it was up to her. "Aurelia, come back…I'll go," she said more quietly, and the Peacekeeper who had stepped up to hold her back slowly let go of her arm.

The dark-haired girl's lower lip quivered. Her terrified eyes went from her young new husband to her best friend and back. She was either going to sentence herself to death, or let Sparrow do it. "S-Sparrow…no…"

The blonde young woman nodded. She knew she had to, and there was no other choice, like it or not. The Capitol was not beyond putting children in fragile conditions in their vicious Games – there had been children missing limbs, blind children, deaf children, and now they were seconds away from having their first obviously pregnant tribute.

"I'll volunteer to go," Sparrow said in as firm a voice as she could muster, but it still wavered slightly. Another small, collective gasp from the crowd. Silence. Stares, expectant, waiting, analyzing.

"A volunteer? How wonderfully exciting! Please, come up here, dear!" Oberon gushed. He grinned that garish smile and reached out a hand in a symbol of welcoming, of accepting the new tribute.

Sparrow swallowed and she went to Aurelia, hugging her close. "Don't worry about me," she whispered in her ear, petting her dark hair as the pregnant girl began to sniffle. "Shh, don't cry…Aura, don't cry…I'll be back," she smiled weakly, though both of them knew that could be quite the long shot. District Five had a fairly decent track record concerning successful tributes, but a dead tribute was nothing compared to an actual victor.

"Come on, don't be shy! Who do we have here?" Oberon asked as Sparrow shuffled onstage, her green eyes looking around the enormous crowd. She felt like she was no longer in her own body, like she was just a floating pair of eyes and she was watching everything unfold from afar.

"Sparrow…Sparrow Jacturna," she mumbled quietly, flinching as the microphone was thrust toward her. Her soft alto voice echoed over the square and she swallowed back the nervous lump in her throat. Her eyes wandered to Flynn, who was sitting on their father's shoulders.

"Sparrow!" the little boy cried, his round eyes wet with tears. He reached out his small hands, as if he could grab his sister and save her, but that wasn't possible. The deal was done and her fate was sealed; she was either going to come home in a wooden box or on a lavish train, and the odds were stacked highly against the latter.

Their father shushed the young boy and set him down on the ground, where he wriggled and tried to free himself, but the older man's grip was too strong.

"And Sparrow, how old are you?" Oberon asked. His voice sounded even stranger and more distorted than it usually did; all the stress of the situation was making her dizzy and she felt a gnawing in the pit of her stomach.

"I'm s-seventeen…" She would be one of the oldest tributes, no doubt, so at least she had age on her side.

"Well, young lady, we thank you for reminding all of us what the Games are really about… Spirit, and strength, and sacrifice," he said with a small bow, then began to applaud. The audience before them did not clap, and their eyes were still watching the young woman at the microphone with pitying, curious glances.

"Anyway! Now that we have our brave, brave female volunteer…let's see who shall be accompanying her," Oberon said, making his grin even more impeccably bright as he approached the other glass bowl full of tiny paper slips. He lifted his hand and made the performance as dramatic as possible, reaching in and rummaging around for a few torturously long moments. Sparrow was still staring out at the crowd, seeing Aurelia crying quietly, Evander with a strained look on his face, Arden wringing his hands, and her parents holding Flynn close. Please, God, not Arden…they couldn't afford to lose another child…

Oberon at last chose a piece of paper to his liking and unfolded it, his turquoise eyes with the purple borders on his pupils peering over the name a few times. Was it hard to pronounce? Was he deciding how best to give the poor child's parents a heart attack?

"Evander Jacturna," he called into the microphone, and the last syllables echoed throughout the square.

Sparrow felt the bile rise to her throat and her eyes became bloodshot as the tears proved impossible to hold back. She held her hands behind her back to hide the fact that they were trembling, and she watched in horror as every head turned to look at her older brother.

He fidgeted for a few seconds, as if he was unsure of what to do first. He fixed a few stray dark blonde hairs and took a quiet breath before stepping forward. The young men his age who were gathered around him slowly parted. All the other eighteen-year-olds could take a collective deep breath; they were safe forever. This had been their last chance, and now it was over. A brother and sister were set to go to the Games, and the rest of District Five could celebrate while the Jacturna family wept over the inevitable murder of half of their children.

"Evander," Aurelia choked out quietly, and she stumbled over to the rope separating the girls from the boys. She reached out her hand to touch him, but a Peacekeeper came to hold her back. She sniffled as he gave her an apologetic look, and his footsteps echoed as he stepped onto the stairs leading to the stage.

"Well, with a name like that, you two must be related!" Oberon stated, smiling as the tall, lanky young man finished that fateful walk. "Siblings? Cousins?"

"I'm her brother," Evander murmured, the sound of his voice just a mumble as he was too far away from the microphone.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that—"

"He's my brother!" Sparrow blurted loudly, her cheeks red and a couple of tears slowly streaming down them. She didn't care about being nationally embarrassed; she could hardly believe that this was real. All this time she had been worried that it would be Arden, that he would have to face this horror alone…never had she dwelt on the idea that not one Jacturna, but two of them would be sent to the arena in a matter of days to kill twenty-two other children, and then each other. That was if they were lucky enough to survive the first few days.

"You two will make a great team, then!" Oberon said cheerfully, and he took the two reluctant tributes' hands in his. "Ladies and gentlemen of District Five, your tributes for this year's Hunger Games! Evander and Sparrow Jacturna!"

Sparrow couldn't bear to look at her brother for fear she would start sobbing and make both of them look like fools to the other tributes, to their potential sponsors, to all of Panem. She may as well hang a target on the both of them and be done with it. Even for all the horrible misery of this situation, they could not afford to be seen as weak. They had been chosen and there was nothing they could do about it; now they had to fight.


	4. Chapter 4

_I must stay on the shore  
__I am young, my blood warm  
__I can take you this far  
__Now, my love, we must part_

_When blood and youth were warmer  
__We breathed summer like the sweet air  
__We found each other like a mirror  
__We were so optimistic  
__It was so easy to be  
__We were young and naïve_

_(The Hush Sound)_

* * *

"Are you scared?"

"What kind of question is that?"

The two oldest Jacturna siblings were sitting next to each other in a sanctioned room of the Justice Building, waiting for their family to come say their goodbyes. The sounds of the square being cleared and everyone else heading out to celebrate could be heard through the window, which was opened a crack to let fresh air into the stuffy building. Neither of them had spoken since they had exited the stage; there seemed to be no words that could capture what either of them was feeling. Fear, panic, dread, reluctance, disbelief – and this was only the beginning. They weren't even out of their home district yet.

Evander looked at his feet, the dust from the square having settled on his freshly polished dress shoes. "I…A stupid question, that's for sure," he said with a quiet sigh. "I'm scared…I'm scared out of my mind, Sparrow, about everything…not just about us, but about Aura, and the boys…mom and dad…"

His younger sister pursed her lips and set a hand on top of his. "Leave the worrying for later," she murmured. "We have to be strong, Ev. It's all about image. Isn't that what they've told us all these years? We just have to have a bark that's as bad as our bite…"

He managed a small, halfhearted laugh. "I'm already having nightmares imagining what they're going to do for our costumes…How many times have a brother and sister been tributes? I don't remember it ever happening in our lifetime. I'm sure the stylists are having a field day right now…"

"It's Reaping Day," Sparrow scoffed and shook her head. "Everyone is having a field day."

They both looked up as the door suddenly opened and their parents walked in, Flynn in his father's arms and Arden looking sullen as he trailed behind his mother. His eyes looked bloodshot, and Sparrow was surprised to see that he had been crying.

"Mom," Evander said softly as he stood up, going over to Irene. He held her close, almost dwarfing her, and kissed the top of her head. "Mom, shhh…it's alright… We'll be okay," he whispered and rubbed her back reassuringly. "I promise. We'll both be fine…we'll take care of each other…"

While Evander consoled their mother, Sparrow gave Arden a small smile, reaching out her hand for him. "Hey, come here, you. I want to talk to you."

The young boy shuffled over to his sister and he gulped as she crouched down so they were eye to eye. Normally he was all about keeping up appearances, looking "cool" and that sort, but even he was blown away by the cruel hand fate had dealt them this time.

"You're in charge while we're gone, okay? Make sure you go to school every day, do your work, take care of Flynn and mom and dad…Don't let yourself get distracted. You'll only be looking at a screen, Arden. I'm still your sister. I'm right here," she whispered as she took his hand and placed it over her heart. "And promise me that whatever happens on that screen, whatever you see or hear…I love you, and Evander loves you, and we are going to come back for you. The both of us. Don't you lose hope…don't give up on us…" She smiled faintly again and kissed his forehead, wiping a stray tear from his cheek with her thumb.

"Okay," Arden mumbled simply. He nodded and let his sister pull him into a hug, which was interrupted by Flynn's wailing.

"No, no, don't go! Don't go, Sparrow!" he cried, wriggling in his father's arms. He whimpered and reached for his sister, who swallowed.

"Flynn, shh," their father mumbled, trying to restrain his little boy. But the six-year-old was insistent, and he managed to flail his way out of his father's arms.

"Sparrow, I don't want you to go…I don't," he whimpered as he hurried over to her, and she knelt in front of him, putting her hands on his small arms.

"Flynn, baby…baby, it's alright…I'm gonna come back, don't you worry," she whispered and smoothed back his soft brown hair. "I'll see you in a few weeks…don't cry…Don't cry, Flynn, be a big boy for me, okay? Be a brave, strong little prince for me…"

"No," he frowned and clung to his only sister, and his wailing grew more intense as the door opened and a Peacekeeper stepped inside.

"Time to go," he said firmly, wincing at the intensity of the little boy's cries. "Your time is up. Come on."

"Mama!" Flynn suddenly blurted, and the whole family froze. Sparrow looked at him with wide eyes, and it felt like in that moment, her heart had broken into a thousand pieces.

"Flynn, I…I'm not…" She bit her lip and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead to hide the fact that she was about to cry. Who was she kidding? She practically was Flynn's mother, and Arden's…it was as though she and Evander were the parents and their younger brothers were their sons. Now she was leaving them behind, and the chances of seeing them again were dim. Her mother, her father, her brothers, Aurelia…even the district itself would be missed. One of the Jacturna siblings needed to make it out of the arena alive, so that these games weren't twice as devastating to the family. The loss of one child was enough, but to lose both of them would be a living nightmare.

Sparrow pulled herself together as best as she could, but a few tears had rolled down her cheeks. She wiped them away with the back of her hand and cleared away the lump in her throat, looking at Flynn. "I love you. I do. I'll be back, little guy," she said in a soft, wavering voice, and planted a kiss on top of his head.

"We'll be cheering for you," their father said with a nod, being firm and strong as ever, but it was apparent that even he was having trouble holding back his emotion. He kissed his two older children on their cheeks and led his wife out of the room before they had to be escorted out. Arden followed them, but little Flynn loitered a few more moments.

"Come on, Flynn!" Irene called to her youngest son, trying to get him to come to her. She couldn't stand to be there anymore; she had to get home before the gravity of the situation completely floored her.

Flynn hesitated before hugging Evander's legs, and then he hugged Sparrow's. "Bye, mama," he whispered, and then he was gone. There was the sound of something small hitting the wood floor, and Sparrow knelt down to pick it up. It was a tiny white button from Flynn's shirt, barely the size of her pinky fingernail, but it was something. It had probably come loose from all his kicking and flailing. She stared at it for a while, her fingers lightly tracing over the edges, and she was so absorbed in this tiny button that she didn't even notice Aurelia come in.

"Evander!" Aurelia whimpered upon arriving, and she pressed against him, sniffling. She obviously had quite the emotional burden to bear, for it was her name being drawn that had sent Sparrow to the stage in the first place. Now she was losing not only her new husband and the father of her unborn child, but her best friend as well. "Oh, Evander…I can't even believe…" She put her hands to his face and looked at him, her large brown eyes wet with fresh tears that didn't seem to stop flowing.

"It's okay," he whispered, glancing over at his sister. Sparrow had taken a seat by the window and was still fiddling with Flynn's button. She knew the couple needed to have their own, separate goodbyes. "It's okay, Aurelia… You'll have mom and dad to watch over you, and of course the baby," he smiled weakly. Yes, the baby…the baby he had been aching to meet for almost nine months, the baby who might never know who his father was or what he was like. He wouldn't have much to be proud of – just a father who died unremarkably in the games before they ever met. Evander felt his chest tighten at all these distressing thoughts and he frowned, trying to clear them from his head.

"But you…you'll be so far away, and on a screen…I can't help you on a screen, I can't touch you or kiss you, or talk to you…" Aurelia was a mess, but Evander was doing his best to comfort her.

"You'll be taken care of, that's what matters, alright?" he said, setting his hands on her shoulders. He tilted her chin up gently, attempting to get her to look into his blue eyes. "Aura…Aura, I love you," he whispered and pulled her into a close hug. He swayed with her for a few moments, and the only sound in those brief seconds was of Aurelia's muffled crying.

Sparrow tucked Flynn's button into her dress pocket and she stood up, watching her brother hug his wife. She felt so out of place, like she was a piece of furniture in comparison. They had each other now, and while she was the one who had introduced them, she always felt invisible around them. So it wasn't much of a shock when they seemed to pay no attention to her, still intent on taking full advantage of what was potentially their last moments together.

Of course, had it been her and Huxley in this situation, with Aurelia in Sparrow's place, she probably would be attached to his hip as well. But there was no use sulking over him. He was gone. He had been gone for nine months now, and it seemed that everyone else had moved on a long, long time ago.

Her last words to him hadn't been nearly as meaningful as Aurelia's. If she had known he was going to die that day, things would have been done differently. Maybe that was why he had never asked her to marry him; she wasn't wife material like Aurelia was. Good for a few stolen kisses, fun to make her blush, but she wasn't worthy of a ring.

"I don't want you to go," Aurelia insisted tearfully, but it was no use. Nobody could take Evander's place now, and it may as well have been set in stone that he wasn't coming back. "I can't do this by myself, Ev, I can't raise a baby on my own!"

He sighed, chewing on the inside of his cheek, and rubbed her back. "You don't have to, Aura. You'll have the family, and hopefully…" He didn't want to make any empty promises; he knew as well as she did that he might not come back at all. Giving her false hope was not a good idea. "It'll be alright. Just please…please be strong for me, okay?"

"And for me," Sparrow added quietly, a little tired of feeling like the third wheel. She smiled faintly and went over to them, kissing the brunette girl's cheek. "I love you, Aurelia. Take care of yourself, alright?"

Aurelia looked at the two siblings who stood before her, her lower lip quivering. "Y-y-yes…yes, alright," she managed to stammer after some struggling. "I love you too, Sparrow…" She pulled her into a hug and sniffled against her neck, burying her face in Sparrow's long blonde waves. Just before pulling away, she kissed Sparrow's ear softly. "Thank you," she whispered, and her voice was barely audible through her tears. She smiled very weakly, wiping her eyes, and looked up at Evander as he squeezed her hand.

Sparrow gave Aurelia a small nod and they all glanced at the doorway when the Peacekeeper who had ushered out the rest of the family returned.

"Yes, time to go, we know," she muttered and swallowed, not noticing until then that she had been digging her fingers into her palms. There were four little red indentions on each palm from her nails. "Aura…"

"I love you!" Evander called after her, and Sparrow quickly went to his side once Aurelia let the Peacekeeper lead her out. His blue eyes met with his wife's brown ones and the moment seemed to painstakingly play out in slow motion until she was gone.

"She'll be alright," Sparrow murmured, taking her brother's arm with both hands. She let her fingertips run over his skin, trying to soothe him. She could feel how tense he was. "She's got the boys watching over her, remember?"

Evander looked at her and his lips turned up in a strained smile. "Of course." They were the ones being sentenced to almost certain death. No need to worry about everyone sitting safely at home.

"Ready to say goodbye to the unforgettable District Five?" Sparrow attempted some of her usual dry humor, wanting to lighten the mood. "I bet we'll fit right in at the Capitol, what do you think? I can see you with green hair…hmmm, yes…Then you'd really be like a tree…"

Evander shook his head and sighed. Both of them were trying to push all the hurt behind them; moping about wasn't going to get them anywhere. It was hard to focus on the grueling days ahead, though, when they had been ripped from their considerably happy and comfortable lives at home. Life was not peachy by any means, but compared to the hardships faced by people from the poorer districts, the Jacturnas got along well. Until now.

The pair didn't need to speak as they were led out of the Justice Building to the train station, their chaperone flitting around and babbling on and on about all things Capitol. They sat in the back seat of the car on the way to the station, holding hands, quietly mulling over the day's events while Oberon Chaplet's words fell upon unlistening ears. Needless to say, everything felt blurred. The people outside celebrating, the Peacekeepers in their blinding white uniforms, the heat of the warm summer's day – it all seemed so surreal.

The car stopped and Evander gave his sister's hand a gentle squeeze. She glanced over at him and they shared a look; a look that said they would be alright.

"I hope you've said your goodbyes and gotten your affairs in order, because here we are!" Oberon announced as he opened the side door and let the Jacturna siblings climb out. He smiled and batted his abnormally long eyelashes, those teeth reflecting the sun so well that they almost blinded Sparrow when she looked at him.

"I think we're as ready as we'll ever be," she replied.

"Good to hear, good to hear! Come on, no need to dilly dally…We've got things to discuss!" Oberon said as he brought the pair to the side of the train, before a set of doors. "Are you ready to embark on your journey to the Capitol? Hopefully it won't be your only time!"

The doors slid open, Oberon let the tributes step inside and he came in behind them, and just like that, they were headed to the Capitol. The familiar sights of District Five, all that they had ever known, began to whiz by and turn into nothing but blurs as the train quickly gained speed.

"Here we go," Evander whispered in Sparrow's ear, and it was only then that he let go of her hand.


	5. Chapter 5

_And so it is  
__Just like you said it would be  
__Life goes easy on me  
__Most of the time  
__And so it is  
__The shorter story  
__No love, no glory  
__No hero in her sky_

_(Damien Rice)_

* * *

The train itself was unlike anything Sparrow and Evander had ever seen. It seemed to stretch on for ages, and the car they walked into was decorated a deep shade of red. The furniture and dining ware seemed to all match perfectly; whoever chose the décor was obviously, painfully detail-oriented. The pair of siblings looked around the car curiously, both trying to soak in their new surroundings. So this would be home for the next day…it seemed comfortable enough.

"Come on, there's a couple of people you need to meet," Oberon coaxed the quiet brother and sister, who looked at one another before looking at their escort. Now that they were off the stage and away from all those screens, Oberon looked different. He was no longer that intimidating, untouchable man, but he seemed much more human now. His rich, dark skin made for an interesting contrast with his yellow (yellow, not exactly blond) hair, which was styled into a blunt, textured bob. His eyes had been altered to an unusual yellow-green color and they were framed by lashes that must have been three times their normal length. All in all, he looked very odd to the Jacturnas, but they knew from what they had seen on television that in the Capitol, there were thousands of people just like him, if not even stranger.

When the two of them gave him a curious look, he chuckled. "Your mentors, of course! What, did you think you were going to go it alone?"

"Right, mentors," Evander whispered. In all the rush, he had completely forgotten that they would have people taking care of them, helping them with a strategy, and getting them sponsors. It was a relief to know that they wouldn't be alone. "We have two?"

"Yes, and they're such lovely people! You're very lucky to have them," Oberon said in that cheerful voice. He stepped behind the pair, putting one hand on each of their backs. "I think you both are going to make District Five very proud," he whispered and patted them both on the shoulders. With that, he chuckled and led them through the door to the adjacent car. "Antonia? Conall? Here they are!"

A very tall, broad man and a much smaller woman turned to face Oberon, both of them looking curiously at the tributes. The man was incredibly handsome and seemed to be in his late twenties, and Sparrow couldn't help but gawk at him. The more she stared at him, the more it seemed that his entire physique must have been hand-crafted by God himself. He had light brown hair that was cut just below his earlobes, eyes the color of a clear spring sky, and his lips seemed so soft that she wanted to reach out and touch them. He looked familiar in an odd way – being a victor from her home district, she should have immediately recognized him, but he must have won when she was very small, or even before she was born. Sparrow never really kept up with the victors, so she couldn't be sure who he was. She could, however, sense him chuckling quietly at her, and she quickly looked at her feet, feeling her cheeks turn red like never before.

That was when she realized he looked more or less like an older version of Huxley. Thus why she couldn't tear her eyes away from him.

The small young woman at his side did ring a bell. Sparrow remembered seeing her running around a dark, fog-laden forest about seven or eight years ago; she would have remembered those eyes anywhere. Her eyes were by far the dominant feature of her face, being such a deep ocean-blue color and practically the size of saucers. The woman couldn't have been out of her early twenties, and she looked even younger with such a doll-like face. She had almost sickly pale skin and her light auburn hair seemed thin for her age, but she was very beautiful in a haunting way.

"This is Antonia Marsh," Oberon motioned toward the delicate woman, who held out a hand and gave a small, shy half-smile. "She won the sixty-fourth games, so you probably remember her…"

Evander shook Antonia's hand and gave her a warm smile in return. "I was ten when those happened…I do remember you, I always thought you were very brave," he said kindly.

"Thank you," Antonia replied in a soft voice, and she shook Sparrow's hand as well. "You'll be surprised what you can do in the right circumstances."

"And this is Conall Fletcher. He won thirteen years ago," Oberon glanced admiringly at the very tall man, who took Sparrow's hand and kissed it.

The blonde young woman's eyes widened and she stared at him again – she must have looked crazed, because there was that amused twinkle in his eye – as he stood back up. "Conall…Fletcher?" she blurted, and she felt like her cheeks were on fire.

"Pleasure to meet you both," he spoke at last, and his deep, rich voice was what truly floored her. Sparrow felt weak in the knees again, like she had onstage at the Reaping. "I'm sorry you had to leave your family…I know how rough that must be for you," he gave a sympathetic smile to Evander and shook his hand. "But our job is to help you get back home, alright? Do you trust us?"

"Y-yeah," Sparrow blurted. Honestly, she wasn't _trying_ to act like an idiot. "Um…so…so we'll be in the Capitol tomorrow?" she asked, hesitating before she pulled out a chair at the dining table. Her brother sat next to her, and their mentors sat across the table from them.

"Just an overnight ride, yes. We'll be there tomorrow afternoon," Conall said with a warm smile. He offered Sparrow some bread and she took a piece, trying to eat it as nimbly and politely as possible.

Oberon beamed at his tributes, who already showed impeccable manners. They were a little on the quiet side, but they seemed like very good kids. "Then you'll finally see the Capitol! Oh, it's glorious, I just wish we were there right now! You'll see your stylists and their teams, and you'll both be dolled up for the parade tomorrow…it's so exciting, isn't it?"

The brother and sister both nodded, having every intention of being polite. It was in their nature to be respectful and courteous, that was how they had been raised. It seemed to be working in their favor so far.

"Do you want to jump straight into things, or should we give it a few minutes?" Conall asked after he had chowed down on a few more delicious treats. "We can see the recaps of the reapings in the other districts, check out the competition…"

Evander swallowed and he coughed suddenly, his food having gone down the wrong pipe. Just the idea of seeing his competition made him nervous. "I…well, whatever…whatever Sparrow wants to do…"

Sparrow pursed her lips, absentmindedly tracing the rim of her glass with her fingertips. She still couldn't get over how much Conall reminded her of Huxley, and how much that was undoubtedly going to affect her training. How could she expect to concentrate when she was constantly being reminded of her dead beau? "I think it's a good idea to check them out," she finally said, smiling kindly at Oberon as he filled her glass with some more juice. She was starting to warm up to this guy.

"Very well then! Let's see who we've got on." The yellow-haired man got up to turn on the nearby television, and soon all five of them had their eyes on the screen. Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith were offering their usual commentary as clips from the day's reapings played in the background.

"You know, this little one here, Stella, may surprise us," Caesar was saying as they showed a small girl with shoulder-length dirty blonde hair walk up to the stage. "She's from District Three, so we know she's smart. Look at the way she carries herself – if she's shocked or scared, she doesn't show it at all. She handles herself better than most of the older kids do!"

"Oh," Sparrow whispered as she saw the girl's face. She looked so young; she couldn't have been older than thirteen…She was followed onstage by a gangly older boy with greasy dark hair, whose name was Aran. Neither of them looked much of a threat, but then again, District Three wasn't a producer of Career tributes. Those were generally more from One, Two, and…

"Here we go! One of my favorite moments is always District Four…we've had such great tributes from here in the past, and some of the most memorable victors have come from here!" Caesar announced excitedly. His hair, lips, and eyelids were colored pink this year, which made Sparrow smile.

The screen showed the stage at District Four, and before the escort could read off the name of the female tribute, a nearby seagull cawed loudly. This made Caesar and Claudius chuckle, especially when they saw how surprised the escort looked.

Nothing like taking a Capitol person and showing them what life was like without all those luxuries, right?

"Here we go…Will we have another Annie Cresta this year, I wonder? Maybe we'll have a dashing tribute to remind us of Finnick Odair," Caesar whispered and his eyes widened as the escort opened the tiny slip of paper.

"Regen Crew!" the tall woman announced in her shrill voice, her lilac-colored hair blowing in the breeze. A boy who must have been at least six feet tall stood up and quietly walked onstage, but he had a very poised demeanor. He seemed quite strong and actually did look quite a lot like Finnick Odair – the same skin color, the same soft sun-kissed hair – but he seemed much more reserved.

"He doesn't seem too bad, for a Career," Antonia murmured, and Evander jumped a little. He had almost forgotten she was there, she had been so quiet.

"I'm sure he's good at, you know, gutting fish and the like," Conall wrinkled his nose. "But you never know. Antonia tends to be right about people the first time," he smiled reassuringly.

"Mira Gale!" the escort on the television said into the microphone. The camera panned to a petite girl in the crowd with a medium complexion and short brown hair. Her light caramel eyes were wide with surprise and she blinked a few times before taking those first few steps toward the stage.

Evander paused as he looked at the girl, furrowing his brow. She had those same defined eyebrows, those bright eyes, that dark hair…She looked so much like Aurelia, it was eerie. "Sparrow," he whispered, giving his sister a sideways glance. "Doesn't she…"

"She does," Sparrow replied, raising her eyebrows.

"I'm sorry?" Oberon asked, looking at the tributes with a kind smile. Oh, he was so lovable! Sparrow had completely changed her mind about him within the span of an hour. She had gone from rolling her eyes at him to wanting to embrace him for seemingly no reason.

"The girl from Four…She looks like, um…She looks like Evander's wife," Sparrow explained, licking her dry lips. She stole a brief glance at Conall, who had a small notepad on the table and was taking notes on the chosen tributes.

"Oh, yes! I remember! You have a lovely bride, I must say…it's odd to have a married tribute, but I'm proud of you," Oberon grinned and patted Evander's shoulder, making the shy young man blush. "Taking responsibility like that and—"

"Oh, they didn't get married because she was pregnant!" Sparrow gasped, realizing that that was the impression Oberon had. She bit her lip as the three adults stared at her, and her cheeks turned red. "Th-they, um…they did things the proper way…" She laughed sheepishly and then looked at her lap, clearing her throat and turning her attention back to the television.

"Now here we have District Five," Caesar said, letting out a deep sigh.

"This was by far the most emotional reaping this year," Claudius shook his head. "A pregnant girl was almost sent, but at the last minute her friend volunteered to go in her place…As you can see, this was a shock for that family."

Sparrow swallowed as she watched herself comfort Aurelia, then head onstage. She cringed at how pale she looked, at how obvious it was that her hands were trembling. So despite her best efforts, she did manage to look like a coward. Fantastic.

"Hey, I've seen worse," Conall offered, raising a brow. "Last year, the girl was a blubbering mess. Literally cried at least four times a day. She didn't make it past the Cornucopia," he sighed, looking at Antonia, who shook her head.

"You've got to give yourself credit for not totally falling apart up there," the delicate woman said quietly. "Look. Look at you…" She pointed at the screen, which was showing a close-up of Sparrow's face. Indeed, she looked shocked and upset, but there was definitely a sort of grace and dignity about her.

"You're so pretty when you're sad," Conall chuckled softly. "Aww, look at that, there…Now that, my dear, is the face that launched a thousand sponsors," he smiled at the blonde girl, who blushed a deeper shade of crimson.

As Evander's name was called and the camera went from filming his walk to the stage to Sparrow's reaction, the siblings found that they were holding each other's hands again. They looked at one another and their cheeks flushed.

"You'll see. You stand a better chance than you think. They're going to love a brother and sister pair…it's the next best thing to star-crossed lovers," Antonia murmured as she took Conall's notepad to scribble some things down. "The idea is that you two don't compete, but you work together. That's stronger than any sort of rivalry."

Sparrow looked over at her brother again as Caesar and Claudius offered some commentary about the District Five tributes. Maybe they did stand a chance. Their mentors seemed to be more than capable, and they had faith in them. Or at least they were kind enough to act that way. Either way, things were starting to look up for them.


	6. Chapter 6

_But lately her face seems  
__Slowly sinking, wasting  
__Crumbling like pastries  
__And they scream  
__The worst things in life come free to us  
__Cause we're just under the upperhand  
__And go mad for a couple grams  
__And she don't wanna go outside tonight  
__And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland  
__Or sells love to another man  
__It's too cold outside  
__For angels to fly  
__Angels to fly_

_(Ed Sheeran)_

* * *

The rest of the reapings went as they usually did, for the most part. The youngest tributes this year turned out to be two twelve-year-olds, the boy from District Six and the girl from Twelve. No more volunteers raised a voice, and no more killing machines mounted the stage. The boy from Seven had a quiet, mysterious air about him, but the Jacturnas had seen enough Games to know that everyone had their own strategy. He could just have had a very convincing poker face.

"I think overall you've made a very lasting impression," Oberon grinned at his tributes. He couldn't be more pleased to have such a well-mannered and manageable pair. "In a good way, of course. And that's what this is, it's all about making an impression!" He got up to pour a couple of glasses of wine, offering one to Antonia, but she passed it on to Conall.

"What I'd like to do is split the two of you up, but we'll still be on the same page," the pale-skinned young woman said, still scribbling in her notepad. "Conall will mentor one of you, and I will take the other. It doesn't matter who goes with whom, but each of us will focus on different things. Conall's better at the physical aspects of it all, while I'll drill you on more mental things. Survival skills," she pursed her lips as she took a moment to finish writing something.

"So are you calling me dumb?" Conall raised an eyebrow and took a drink of his wine, smiling handsomely when he set down the glass. He chuckled, his voice deep and rich, and he shook his head. "She's right. We're not going to waste time and try to make you experts at something you're obviously not gifted at. So you're going to have to decide who's more willing to get physical, and who's more willing to be the survival expert." He looked at Evander, then at Sparrow, and leaned back in his chair with his strong arms folded over his chest.

Sparrow licked her lips and she thought a moment. Evander was taller and obviously stronger, but she knew that he would be terribly uncomfortable with hurting another person, let alone killing one. Besides, it would be expected that the male tribute be more physically imposing than his female counterpart. Not many people would anticipate a mild-mannered boy and a fierce girl.

So, despite the intense shyness she felt around Conall, she looked up at him. His blue eyes seemed to lock right onto her green ones and she could sense the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up. "I want to fight," she said, and she noticed the surprised look on Oberon's face.

"Good on you, princess," Conall winked. This made Sparrow blush again and she silently cursed herself. "So Antonia will take Evander, then?"

Evander looked over at his small, fragile-looking mentor and smiled faintly. There was something so ethereal about her that both intrigued and startled him at the same time. "That sounds good," he said softly, and his smile grew a little wider as Antonia nodded.

"You two already make a great team," Antonia said as she closed her notepad and stood up, pushing in her chair. "Just imagine the force you'll be once you step into the Arena."

* * *

It was many hours later and night had long since fallen, and Sparrow could not bring herself to sleep. Instead her light green eyes were wide open, and she was staring at the wall opposite her bed. She had no idea what time it was, she didn't really want to know, but it didn't matter. She would never find sleep, regardless of whether it was midnight or four in the morning. It must have been leaning toward the latter when she at last decided to crawl out of bed, the silk white sheets so cool against her skin. She glanced at herself in the mirror, still seeing the same reflection of the girl she was less than a day before. Long, wavy blonde hair that was a tad frizzy, round pink cheeks, full chapped lips, a little bit of a bad posture, but they would work on that in the Capitol. Tributes were always preened and poised to look their ultimate best.

In less than a week, she would be unrecognizable.

Sparrow quietly slipped out of her quarters and into the next car, running her fingers along the rich mahogany of the table where she had eaten that previous afternoon. She could almost hear her own heartbeat, if it weren't for the constant soft hum of the train rushing along the tracks.

"Morning," came a quiet voice from nearby, and Sparrow would have screamed if she hadn't just been petrified from fear. Her eyes grew as wide as they possibly could and she grabbed the top of the nearest chair to steady herself. Now she could definitely hear her heart beating – no, pounding relentlessly – against her chest. Her eyes darted around in the darkness until they settled upon a ghostly figure sitting in a lounge chair. Antonia.

"I…I…" Sparrow swallowed and she attempted to regain her ability to speak. "I d-didn't expect anyone to be…to be up…"

Antonia smiled and she shifted around in her seat, her legs tucked under. "Sleep eludes the best of us," she murmured and watched the younger girl for a moment. "Don't go…here, sit down," she patted the arm of the empty chair next to her.

When Sparrow finally sat, still on edge from the fright she had been given, she looked over at the waiflike woman.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost," Antonia teased, the faint light from the full moon outside illuminating her pale face. "You seem to have a lot more on your mind than my average tribute, miss Jacturna."

Sparrow pressed her lips into a line and then licked them. "I'm always thinking," she replied in a soft murmur. "About…about the past…the future…mostly the past."

"You and I have that in common," the tawny-haired woman said. "So what's been haunting you, love?"

Her voice was so soft, her features so beautiful, that Sparrow couldn't help but feel like she was talking to a sister rather than a woman who had been a complete stranger just twelve hours before. The sister she had never known. Aurelia was the closest thing she had to a sister, being her dearest friend, but it wasn't quite the same. Her brothers weren't very good at this sort of talk, either. Flynn was too young, Arden was uninterested in her, and Evander just blushed at the idea of intimacy.

"I know there's something there," Antonia continued quietly, and she reached out a small hand to set it on top of Sparrow's own. "I know that look. I see it every day on my own face."

* * *

Sparrow used to never frown. At least, that's what her mother and father said. She was born happy, she was always smiling and laughing, up for anything, patient and generous and kind to everyone, no matter what. The Jacturnas were blessed to have such an angel for a daughter who seemed to raise herself. She taught herself to talk and read, and Evander remembered being intimidated by his baby sister who seemed a thousand times smarter than he was. But she of course wasn't perfect; that was only the façade of innocence provided by childhood.

As she grew up, the rose-colored glasses came off. She encountered people embittered by the cruel indifference of the Capitol, children and adults alike who mocked and scorned her family for being better off than they were, and soon the soldiers of the Capitol themselves – the Peacekeepers. District Five was more average than anything. They weren't dirt-poor, but they weren't Capitol lapdogs. They weren't unnecessary by any means, but they weren't everyone's favorite district either. Power was a must, but it was measly compared to District One's abundance of gems and gold. Sparrow grew up knowing what it was like to feel famished, but she also knew that there were children her same age and two-thirds her size in the lesser districts. All things considered, she grew up in an average, somewhat complacent household.

More than anything, she wanted her own family to take care of. Sure, she had her brothers, but she wanted a husband and babies – girls, in particular. She was so certain that her dream was going to come true when she met Huxley. He was a couple of years older, incredibly handsome and charming, and worked closely with Evander, so she began to see lots of him when she was fifteen. He asked her out almost immediately, and they had the most wonderful two years together. Her happy-go-lucky personality came back in full swing, and she was ready for him to ask her hand in marriage by the time her seventeenth birthday rolled around.

Then came the day of the power plant accident.

It was a surreal blur and yet so painfully clear at the same time. Sparrow had been helping out at the nursery school after class when there was a low rumbling that made the walls shake. After taking the children outside to safety, she began to feel a terrible pain in her stomach, like someone had stabbed her and was twisting the knife around and around in her gut. The smoke and the screams were coming from the plant, and Peacekeepers were swarming the place. She left the children with their teacher and hurried toward the scene of the accident on feet that didn't feel like they were attached to her body, her eyes glazed over as she clumsily made her way through the quickly-forming crowd.

When Evander emerged from the smoke but Huxley did not, Sparrow felt her heart at war with itself. She was relieved to see her brother unharmed, but she wanted to throw herself inside the wreckage and find her beloved Huxley. Crushed inside of the basement were twenty-three men, one of them being Huxley Fisk. Crushed inside of the basement was the young man she had loved, the one she wanted to marry, the one she had counted on being happy with.

Evander and Aurelia had been married just a few days before. It made Sparrow sick with jealousy, which in turn made her disgusted with herself. The months dragged on and took their precious toll on her, breaking her down and withering her soul until there wasn't much left. She was convinced that there was nothing else to live for, but Flynn and Arden proved her wrong. She had been on her way back to the top when the Reaping stole her away from her family, her last remaining refuge.

She told Antonia a condensed version of this story, and while her voice was soft and small, she managed to convey her true feelings despite never having disclosed them to anyone else. Not Evander, not Aurelia, not a soul other than Antonia. She could never tell Evander, she could never let him feel as conflicted as she did every single day. And a miraculous thing happened when she finished, and looked into Antonia's eyes.

The quiet woman had absorbed every careful word and waited patiently for Sparrow to finish confiding in her. By the time she had, the sun was just beginning to peek over the top of the hills. Sparrow was not cured of her inner turmoil by any means, but part of that great weight on her chest felt like it had been lifted.

"Oh, darling," Antonia said softly, stroking the blonde girl's round cheek and looking into her bloodshot eyes. "You're already a fighter."


	7. Chapter 7

_I've watched you change into a fly  
__I looked away, you were on fire  
__I watched a change in you  
__It's like you never had wings  
__Now you feel so alive  
__I've watched you change  
__I took you home, set you on the glass  
__I pulled off your wings, then I laughed  
__I watched a change in you  
__It's like you never had wings  
__Now you feel so alive_

_(Deftones)_

* * *

"Sparrow?" Evander whispered as he sat up in his bed. He hadn't noticed that his sister had crawled in beside him until just now, upon waking up. She stirred in her sleep and then nuzzled her face further into the pillow, clearly not wanting to be disturbed.

"Let's get dressed and have breakfast, everyone!" Oberon's voice announced from just outside the door, and he peeked into the room through the small window. He blushed a little as he saw the siblings curled up so closely together, and he cleared his throat and decided to move on.

"Sparrow, wake up," Evander tried again, this time nudging the blonde girl's shoulder.

She murmured something under her breath and rolled over, her nightgown and hair both rumpled from a night full of tossing and turning. "Not already," she muttered, squinting as the bright sunlight came in from the window. She reluctantly got up and shuffled across the floor, brushing her hair out of her eyes and opening the door to the next car.

"Oh, hello, sunshine," Conall grinned as he looked up from the table, a pile of hearty-looking food on his plate. "You look ready to greet the day!"

Oberon turned to look at Sparrow and he gasped, the horror evident on his face. "Miss Jacturna! Get dressed right now, please! I…oh, I'm terribly embarrassed," he whispered and covered his eyes, as if seeing someone in their nightclothes was as unforgivable as seeing them in the nude.

"I was about to," Sparrow mumbled sleepily, shuffling past the table toward the door, on the other side of which lay her personal car. She turned to look at Conall, pursing her lips in slight disappointment when she saw that he was eating his breakfast and not staring at her anymore.

"I…I have something laid out for you," Oberon continued, still averting his eyes from the young girl. He sat down at the table with utmost care, as if looking at Sparrow would turn him into a pillar of salt.

She soon disappeared into her car and slipped out of her nightgown, standing naked before her bed. Lying on top of her rumpled bedclothes was a beautiful snow-white dress with lace cap sleeves and a neckline that was just low enough to be decent, but still show off her curves. It fit like a glove, and as she stared at herself in the mirror, she had to wonder how they had known it would fit her so well. They must have had an arsenal of variously sized clothes in the train, prepared to fit any tribute, and this one…happened to look like a wedding dress.

When she emerged from her car and returned to the dining car, where her brother was now seated and dressed and eating his breakfast, Evander looked up. He dropped his fork to the table and blushed noticeably, staring with wide blue eyes at his sister. "Sparrow?"

She looked around the room for a moment, lips pursed, and then frowned. "Where's Antonia?"

Conall looked at Oberon and back to his tribute, his eyes briefly glancing at her body and then back to her pale green eyes. "She's catching up on sleep, I think," he finally offered with a handsome smile, but it was apparent that it was strained. "Here, have some breakfast…I think we've saved just enough for you," he chuckled, motioning to the great piles of food still left on the table.

After breakfast and a while of sitting at the table making small talk, mostly about what to expect in the Capitol, Antonia at last appeared. She floated over to the table in that unsettling silent way of hers, taking her usual seat next to Conall.

Sparrow caught her eye and for a moment, the two young women stared at one another. Antonia's wide-set eyes could speak volumes more than her mouth ever would, and with that momentary glance, Sparrow knew that they had forged an important bond. Antonia was not only honorable, but Sparrow now felt confident that she could entrust this woman with her own life and, more importantly, that of her brother. That was to be their unspoken agreement, to protect Evander.

"Have I missed anything?" she asked, pouring herself a cup of tea and taking a few rolls of bread. She noticed Evander looking at her and she smiled at him, which only made his cheeks turn dark red.

"No, we were just preparing these two for the Capitol," Conall smiled and he gave Antonia a look that seemed to quietly ask her something.

She nodded slightly and took a bite of her bread, and Conall seemed relieved.

"So once we get there…we have the chariot ride?" Evander asked after a moment. He, too, could sense that something was going on with Antonia.

"Oh, heavens, no! There has to be lots of prepping before then!" Oberon chimed in as he sipped at his tea, his pinky out, his hair combed back and actually looking somewhat normal today. He was dressed in a suit the color of spearmint and his eyelashes were coated with sparkles. "Once we arrive, you'll go through your initial cleaning and…and such," he smiled and his eyes wandered over the pair of siblings. They were both considerably attractive, but of course they needed to be at least ten times as beautiful for the ceremonies. "The chariot ride will be the following day. I can't wait to see what Hermia and Lennox have in store for you!" he sighed dreamily.

"Are those our stylists?" Evander was curious to know all that he could now, wanting to improve his game. He hadn't seemed a very strong contender from the beginning, but he was determined to change that. He and his sister and brothers and wife were all depending on his performance in these Games.

Oberon blinked his outrageous eyelashes, smiling kindly at Evander in the way that a slightly annoyed teacher might. "Well, of course they are! They're some of the best stylists around, and Lennox has the benefit of youth on his side. Hermia is a seasoned veteran, so you'll have the best of both worlds! Why, don't you remember any of the outfits from previous years?" He sounded shocked, as if these were things the Jacturnas should focus on rather than providing for their families and avoiding starvation.

Sparrow and Evander sat there racking their brains for a few moments, trying to come up with anything. There were brief flashes of things – silver, gold, bright yellows and whites, gray, sparkles everywhere and lots of jewelry – but nothing stuck out as particularly remarkable. Luckily they were saved from feigning fascination about outfits they couldn't recall when Antonia stood up.

"Here we are," she announced in her soft alto voice, looking out of the window. The train was still speeding along the tracks, but the scenery had changed from lush mountains and greenery to a vast dam, and beyond it lay miles and miles of stone towers and banners. This was no impoverished district. This was the Capitol.

Sparrow and Evander both scooted out their chairs and bumped into each other as they tried to get to the window at the same time, making Conall laugh quietly to himself.

"Should've brought your cameras then, hmm?" he smiled. He scratched at his scruffy chin, his blue eyes focused on the pair of siblings at the window as the train pulled into the tunnel. Sparrow and Evander jumped back a little, surprised to find themselves in darkness, and then they were blinded by the sea of obnoxiously bright colors that awaited them.

"That's them?" Evander asked as they pulled into the station and they got a closer look at the crowd of Capitol citizens hooting and hollering, waving handkerchiefs and clapping. "They're so…so gaudy," he murmured, furrowing his brow as the train eventually slowed to a stop. He swallowed and put on a nervous smile for the people.

"There you go. Make yourselves appealing," Oberon urged the two, patting their shoulders. He grinned dazzlingly at the crowd and waved as well. "See? They love you already! You've just got to appeal to them! And we do that by being well-mannered guests," he said with a raised eyebrow.

Sparrow smiled as well, waving along with her brother. All the feathers and dyed skin and strange tattoos and other miscellaneous bodily alterations made her uncomfortable, but she wasn't going to let these people see that. Her fate depended on their impression of her, and it was no time to fall into her depressed funk again.

"Come on, then. Let's meet your stylists and get you ready! Oh, we can't have you walking around looking like that! You need to be at the top of your game, so to speak," Oberon said as he motioned for the tributes to follow him out. He went first, followed by Sparrow and Evander, with Antonia and Conall bringing up the back.

It felt like hours of winding through the crowd and following a couple of Peacekeepers through the halls until they at last reached the prep room, where the mentors and escort had to say their goodbyes.

"You'll have to reintroduce yourselves when you're done. I always have trouble recognizing any of you afterwards," Conall smiled in his warm, handsome way. He ruffled Sparrow's hair, which took her by surprise and made her cheeks turn a bright pink color. "But don't let them do too much to you, alright? Not much work needs to be done. To either of you," he added and grinned at Evander. "It'll be a little painful, but hey, nothing wrong with personal hygiene!"

Antonia rolled her eyes and she sighed softly. "You won't like what they do, but you've got to deal with it. They've got very high expectations here, and something like a leg hair is sacrilege. Good luck," she smiled faintly and turned to leave, Conall and Oberon following close behind.

Sparrow and her brother exchanged a look that said _well great, _and she was about to mutter something about the whole process when a very tall, pale woman scurried over to them.

"You must be from District Five! Oh, you two look so much alike, we'll have so much fun!" she gasped, clapping her hands together. Her scarlet fingernails, which had to be at least three inches long, clacked together as she did so and she giggled. "I'm Imogen, I'll be working with you, Evander!" she looked at the young man, grinning with such bright white teeth that it almost hurt to look at them. "So come on back with me, please, and you'll meet the rest of your team!"

Evander gulped as Imogen grabbed him by the hand and he was tugged along by the extraordinarily tall woman, leaving his sister behind. She was soon approached by another odd-looking person in a blue robe, though, and taken to her own station. He didn't expect that they would be done separately…It was the first time he had been without Sparrow since the Reaping, and it dawned on him just then how much he needed her. They needed each other. As the team of one woman and two men made him undress completely, his humiliation knew no bounds, but still he kept looking for his sister. They had purposely set up the room so that none of the tributes could see each other, and maybe that was best for Evander. He could hardly tolerate his own sister walking in on him in the shower, let alone twenty-two strangers staring at him while he was plucked and preened for hours on end.

"Just relax, Evander," said one of the men, a short and rotund man with blue flowers tattooed all the way up his wrists to the back of his ears. He began to soak Evander in some sort of foul-smelling liquid, the kind that one was unsure of whether or not they should breathe around. "We're going to make sure you're smooth and shiny, in perfect condition for Hermia! You know, it took her and Lennox forever to decide which of them was going to take you or your sister, but they finally just rolled a die! How clever, hmm? You know what? That sounds like such a fun idea for a party!" he gasped, and he began to chirp excitedly about this and a million other semi-related subjects to his colleagues as they worked their magic on the boy from District Five. Their chattering slowly faded into the background and Evander stared at the ceiling, ignoring everything around him and simply breathing.

What would Aurelia think of all this? Coming to the Capitol, being made over into some exemplar of youth and strength that he certainly was not, wearing odd clothes and being taught how to survive in God only knew what kind of wilderness…taught how to kill. He shuddered at the thought. Sparrow had already said she would take on that job, and while he didn't like the idea of his younger sister killing fellow children either, he knew she would do the job better than he could. What exactly disturbed him the most about that? The fact that sweet Sparrow would get her hands bloody? That Arden and Flynn would certainly see, or at least hear of what happened in the Arena? That his sister was not a hesitant coward like he was? He didn't want to contemplate these kind of thoughts, but he had no other choice. It was going to come up sooner or later, and it was better than listening to his prep team's incessant babbling.

Like it or not, Sparrow was going to keep them both alive by eliminating their enemies. But was the inevitable blood on her hands her responsibility, or the Capitol's?


	8. Chapter 8

_I look at her in that paper dress, I wonder why she won't burn  
__She's just a paper doll, that's all, just a paper doll  
__I dress her up, she knocks me down  
__They try her on for size, she fits, nice  
__Now her soul is dead, now her body's raw  
__You can numb her pain, watch the blood run down her face  
__But don't take notice  
__Watch the blood run down her arms  
__Please don't take notice  
__I know you have her soul and I see it in your eyes  
__She knows you have her soul and she sees it in your eyes._

_(Kittie)_

* * *

It was evening when they finally finished with her. Evander had been done an hour before, but of course Sparrow had needed extra work since there was more to do with her. Her skin felt raw, like it had been scrubbed and plucked to the bone, but when she touched it, it was as smooth as a baby's. Every flyaway hair, every tiny scar, every chipped nail and even her slightly crooked front tooth had been fixed, and she was afraid to look in a mirror. They had offered her one when they finished, but she had shaken her head, her eyes wide. To her, it was shocking. She could already sense that she was in a new body – someone else's body.

She was lying on a cold metal table in some small, strange room with no windows. She had long since given up trying to count the minutes when finally the door opened and in walked a relatively normal-looking man. His skin wasn't dyed, his hair wasn't any electric colors, he had no altered teeth or nails – the only thing noticeable about him was his dark brown beard, which had been trimmed into a very ornate design that reminded Sparrow of the paper snowflakes her mother had once taught her how to make.

"Look at you," he whispered in a warm voice, and a kind smile spread across his face. "I thought you were a beauty to begin with, but now you're an angel."

Sparrow's cheeks flushed; she wasn't used to being complimented, especially from complete strangers. "Thank you," she murmured, sitting up and hugging her arms over her bare chest. "Th-they said I had to keep my clothes off, so…" She chewed on the inside of her cheek sheepishly, feeling rather exposed. She frowned slightly; her mouth didn't even taste right anymore. What had they done to her?

"Well, you've got nothing to be ashamed of. It's just a matter of fitting you for your outfits," the man explained. He stepped closer to her and tilted her chin up, gently turning her head from side to side. "Those eyes are phenomenal, my compliments to your parents," he grinned. "We'll have to highlight those, yes. I don't know if anyone's ever told you this, but you are something special. I just think it's a shame you had to wait this long to hear it!"

Yes. A shame that she had nearly gotten out of the Reaping altogether, but she had been sucked in by her own self-sacrificing attitude. A shame that she was being stuffed and made up for the slaughter. A shame that it could all be for nothing, and she would be sent home in a wooden box within minutes of the Games starting.

_One more year_.

And she would have been safe.

Lennox turned out to be a kind man, though somewhat shallow, as one would expect from a Capitol citizen. He was friendly to Sparrow as he took her measurements and studied her body, making note of what to accentuate. She tried to be open, to let him in, to gain him as a friend, but it was hard to be so pleasant when she was still trying to make sense of all this. He asked her about her home and how she liked the Capitol, but she didn't have that much to say. Besides, whenever she said something, he took it as a chance to turn the conversation into one about him.

She had to remind herself to be patient with these people. They weren't raised the same way she had been, they wanted for nothing. She had no right to think herself above them.

"I have an idea for your outfit tomorrow," Lennox said with a smile, and Sparrow blinked herself back into the real world. "Trust me, it won't be as a lightbulb or anything like that. No, my dear, you…will look fantastic. Stupendous." He then leaned in and grinned even wider. "Stellar," he said with a wink, then handed her the simple blue robe she had been given. "Now go on and find your brother. You two have some preparing to do." He patted her shoulders and watched her leave. Yes, his tributes were going to put on quite a show tomorrow.

"Are you ready?"

Sparrow pursed her lips as she looked around at her prep team. Vita, Tullia, and Nerva were three of the most bubbly, talkative people she had ever encountered, and she had no need to worry about having nothing to say. With all their chattering, there was no room to speak. She sat in silent thought as the women coated her in makeup, worked on her hair, and made sure the rest of her was in tip-top shape before dressing her for the evening. Sparrow wasn't allowed to see herself until the team was done with her, but she was getting a good idea of what she might look like from watching her brother across the room.

Evander was dressed in a crisp gold suit, the dress shirt underneath made of a sheer silvery-white material. Sparrow could only imagine how many nimble fingers had worked to make their outfits perfect down to the last bit of beading and the last centimeter of fabric. He had never looked so refined in his life, and his sister was smiling as she watched him be fussed over by his own prep team.

"You look like a statue," Sparrow observed, and she wrinkled her nose at the faint but disturbing smell of burning hair. Her eyes widened and she turned around to see Tullia wrapping her hair around some extremely hot metal device, and she gasped. "Are you singeing off my hair?!"

The aquamarine-haired woman gasped and she shook her head, giggling. "Oh, no! I'm curling it! Your natural waves are nice and all, but we need extra oomph for the parade! Lots and lots of sponsors will be watching! And between you and me, the costumes may be the main draw, but people pay attention to hair too," she raised a zigzag-shaped eyebrow, the hairs of which matched those on her head.

Sparrow pursed her lips and she slowly relaxed, now that she knew her hair was not being set on fire. But she was still wary of all these supposed beauty treatments, the likes of which she had never known back home. Her own collection consisted of a hairbrush and lip balm from one of the market stands that she couldn't survive without. Now there were things for her eyelashes, her eyebrows, her skin, her eyelids, her lips, her fingernails, her hair…basically the only region they hadn't made up for tonight was her private one, but she was just waiting for the moment when they would go crazy down there as well.

"We need to be on the chariot in fifteen minutes!" Oberon declared, and he was nervously tapping his fingers against the dressing room vanity. "And I do _not_ want our tributes to be tardy! We cannot afford to look lazy!"

He was like that for the next ten minutes and finally the Jacturnas were ushered to their chariot. Sparrow looked around at the other tributes, getting her first good look at everyone. Her eyes first wandered to the smug-looking boy from District One and his fierce-looking partner. Typical Careers. The boy from Two seemed no different, but his female counterpart was considerably smaller and she reminded Sparrow of a slender black cat that liked to wander around the house back in Five. The little girl from Three, the nervous redheaded beauty from Six, the quietly intimidating boy from Seven, the tiny girl from Twelve who was clinging to her much-older partner…Sparrow could feel a twinge in her heart as she looked at her twenty-two new adversaries. Most of the costumes were ridiculous, as usual, but some actually weren't so bad. The thing that she was paying attention to was their faces, and that wasn't making things any easier.

"Chins up! Look fierce, but admirable!" Oberon said in his very charismatic voice as he looked over Evander and Sparrow a few more times. He circled them like a vulture, tugging at Sparrow's dress and fixing Evander's tie until they were pristine enough for his liking. "Grace, and poise, and power…yes yes yes!"

Conall sighed and chuckled in that deep voice of his, folding his arms over his chest. "You'll be fine. Even if you do mess up, they've got twenty-two other kids to pay attention to. Just be the shining stars that you are," he grinned and winked at Sparrow, which made her about fifty times more nervous than she already was.

The horses' hooves clopped against the concrete floor and the siblings jumped slightly as their chariot was pulled forward. Evander had on his typical nervous smile and Oberon sighed deeply.

"Don't look nervous! They can smell it!"

"Oh, come on, I think you're the one being nervous enough for all of us," Conall nudged the escort with his elbow. "Go on. See you after," he smiled at the pair, who looked at each other as their horses brought them into line with the other tributes.

"Here," Evander said softly as they rode towards the thousands of cheering people who awaited them. He put his arm around Sparrow's lower back and pulled her closer, smiling at her. "So you don't fall over."

She smiled back at him, her cheeks a fair shade of pink. "Are you sure it isn't so you can keep steady? You look a little green," she said with a grin, and they both gasped as they were pulled forward. The roar of the crowd was nearly deafening and the whole experience had goosebumps going down their backs.

When Caesar and Claudius caught sight of the District Five chariot, they both smiled hugely. They were one of the night's highlights for sure!

"Now, there's a pair of tributes you can count on! Just look at how they shine!" Caesar beamed, pointing at the two blondes as their horses drove by. Both of them looked stunning, indeed – Evander in that crisp gold suit, and Sparrow in a gorgeous, Grecian-style dress with silver sequins along the bodice. "Is that _powerful_ or what?" He laughed at his own joke, as he tended to do, and turned to Claudius. "I think we know who the shining stars of this year's Games are, what do you think, Claudius?"

The diminutive man nodded and sighed, watching the Jacturnas until they stopped in the circle, the other districts following them in order. "I must say, it's refreshing to see camaraderie instead of the tension we're so used to seeing between district partners. Just look at them both! We may be looking at a future winner here, ladies and gentlemen."

Sparrow and Evander looked at one another as their chariot stopped and they were facing the colossal stage on which President Snow would make his brief welcome speech to the tributes. It seemed like the crowd's cheering would never end, and their ears would be ringing for hours afterward.

"Didn't wet your pants yet, did you?" Sparrow whispered in his ear, grinning when he blushed. "Gives a whole new meaning to 'golden boy', doesn't it?" She giggled quietly, her freshly whitened teeth almost as blinding as the sparkles on her dress. She really did look like some sort of great light, especially with her image blown up on the screens all around.

When the final chariot pulled into the circle, President Snow stood up and went to the podium. He raised his gloved hands and gave that small smile, motioning for the audience to quiet down. "Welcome, tributes of the Seventy-Second Hunger Games! Welcome, to all of you who have traveled so far…All twenty-four of you tributes, who will come to show us your formidable strength, your great courage, and your ultimate sacrifice…"

Sparrow swallowed and she stared ahead at the podium, her full lips pursed. She began to zone out, standing there and absorbing his words, but not really paying attention. She was thinking of Flynn, of Arden, of Aurelia… She was thinking about how the final goodbyes hadn't been enough. Three minutes to tell her family everything she could before she was sent to the slaughter? It was wrong. It was humiliating. But the moment they had pulled Aurelia's name from the bowl, the second that Sparrow had blurted out a rash, instinctual decision to volunteer, she was no longer her own property. She was a commodity. A toy. A doll. To them she was soulless, heartless, unfeeling and uncaring. She was someone to stuff and dress up before being thrown into the most hellish nightmare imaginable.

This was the true meaning of being a tribute. Not the rich food, not the glorious costumes and national attention. Not the vain, slim promise of riches and comfort for the rest of her life. But being a tribute meant the complete surrender of her life, however it may have panned out, for the sick entertainment of the Capitol, and the disturbing reminder to the nation that _it will never stop_.

"So welcome to the Capitol!" the president's voice boomed over the microphone, and Sparrow jumped slightly as she was startled out of her daze. "Enjoy your time here as you prepare to show us what you are made of, and make our nation proud. And as always, may the odds be ever in _your_ favor…"

And so it had begun.

_AN: I am SO sorry for the super long wait, but I kind of lost my inspiration to work on this. I've been extremely busy with school and my family is currently going through a very rough time, so it was a relief to finally get this done and published. Expect a new update MUCH sooner than this one! Thank you so much for reading :)_


	9. Chapter 9

_Well the words aren't coming, no the words aren't coming  
__By day they are far too stark  
__Well the words mean nothing 'til they turn to fire  
__By who we become after dark_

_(Blaqk Audio)_

* * *

"Evander! Evander, wake up, lovey…"

Evander furrowed his brow as he heard Aurelia's voice and he sat up in bed, confused. It was his second night in the Capitol, and he had only gotten to sleep after the ruckus outside died down. The audience had loved the parade, and while that was all well and good, he was painfully aware that he needed to rest up as much as possible. That was hard to do with all the chanting and partying going on five floors below. But here he was, in the wee hours of the morning, in the most comfortable bed he could have ever imagined. Alone.

So what was Aurelia doing here? He knew he had heard her.

"Aura?" he mumbled sleepily, and he pulled the covers off of his body. He scratched his head and slowly got up, his plain white shirt wrinkled from all his tossing and turning throughout the night.

"Get back in bed," her voice came again, and he gasped as a hand pulled at his backside. He stumbled back onto the mattress and blinked as his new bride's face appeared above him. "I just wanted to talk to you!"

"Wh-what?…Why aren't you home?" he frowned, so confused in his sleepy state.

She giggled, her wide brown eyes as bright as ever. "I am home, silly! Home is wherever you are, isn't that what we said? My goodness, you were so chatty during the wedding…I thought you were going to go on forever with your vows! I've never heard you talk so much in front of that many people! Though there were only, what, like ten of them? And you and me…and this little one," she whispered and took his hand, gently placing it on her very swollen stomach.

Evander sat up and scratched his head again, still struggling to get out of his drowsy stupor. "Yeah…I…" He trailed off as his eyes wandered to her belly. "Are you doing okay without me? I mean…getting enough food, feeling okay, resting up…Mom's helping you, right?"

Aurelia kept smiling as she cuddled up next to him, her arm draped over his torso. "Everything is just peachy keen, Evvie. I promise. You were always such a worrywart, you need to stop that! Can't have a daddy who's afraid of his own shadow! No no no!"

He laughed quietly as she continued to babble in an infantile voice, speaking more to the baby inside of her than to him. But she was right, he had always been afraid of things. Afraid of doing something wrong, of losing things, of being hurt – but especially of hurting other people. So he tread carefully everywhere he went, always gentle and kind to the point of meekness, and he did his best to protect his family. That was kind of hard, though, when he was hundreds of miles away from them.

"Hello? You got lost again!" Aurelia smiled and poked his chest with her index finger. "Something the matter, Evvie? You're so quiet…and that's saying something…"

"Just worried," he murmured as she pulled his arm around her shoulders and held his hand. "About everything, you know. The baby, you, the Games…" He groaned and leaned his head back as that awful thought crept back into his head. _The Games. Oh yes. Forgot about those for a minute_.

"Hey," she rubbed his chest affectionately, looking up at him with those warm eyes. "You know that I'm always here, Evander. Remember?" She took his ring finger in hers and kissed it, smiling. "Something this silly won't tear us apart. You said that yourself, before we got married…You said that you were committed to me, and that there was nothing more important than what we have…Just remember that, okay?" she whispered and gave him a tender kiss on the lips.

Evander's heart froze for a moment and he closed his eyes as he felt Aurelia's lips against his own. He had figured there was only a slim chance of ever feeling that sensation again – one in twenty-four, to be exact – and it put him at such ease to know that even if the odds weren't in his favor, he would have at least one more kiss. He moaned softly into her mouth and set his hands on her waist, holding her close, her belly pressed against him. The kisses became deeper, and a few whimpers and moans were elicited from her lips. As his hands wandered to the straps of her dress, he bit his lip. "Aura—"

They were interrupted by some murmuring voices and a thud from just outside his door, which startled Evander. His eyes shot open and just like that, the phantom Aurelia was gone. He swallowed, putting his fingers to his lips, and slowly sunk back into bed. So maybe it had been a dream, an illusion, but it was just what he needed to gain strength.

* * *

"Looking good," Conall grinned as he walked by the dining table in all his shirtless glory. "Black isn't really your color, but I guess you make it work," he teased, and when Sparrow looked up at him she spat out the piece of banana she had been chewing.

Antonia raised her brows, looking from the young girl to her co-mentor, and back to Sparrow. She shook her head and continued to eat her breakfast as Conall pulled out a chair and sat next to her, the chair quietly groaning underneath his weight.

Sparrow was dressed in her training outfit, a simple form-fitting black uniform with red and gray stripes down the sleeves, and her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail. She had insisted to Lennox that beautifying her this morning would be a total waste of his talents, because she fully intended to get down and dirty. Now that some attention would be on her after the previous night's grand entrance, she had to make an image for herself. She didn't want to go for being the pretty girl. Being pretty only got you so far, she had said, and while Lennox had been slightly offended he had given in and decided to work more on her interview dress.

"So tell me again, which station are you gonna go for first?" Conall asked as he served approximately half of the biscuits to himself, slathering them with butter and jam and devouring each one in just one bite.

"Survival," Sparrow replied, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin in the hopes that he would forget how much of a fool she seemed to make herself in his presence. "Umm…Knots, fires, climbing, poisonous plants…one of those, and then a weapon, preferably a ranged one. Just keep switching back and forth!"

"That's my girl," he beamed proudly and reached over to ruffle her hair. "Where's that brother of yours? He's not scared shi—"

"Hi," Evander said suddenly, and Sparrow jumped a little as she saw him standing next to her. "I just got up a few minutes ago, sorry."

Antonia raised her brow again at Sparrow. "Feeling a little jumpy today, love?"

Sparrow laughed nervously and her cheeks turned pink. _Damnit. Blushing, giggling schoolgirl was no way to go._ "I, uh…I think it must be this drink! Making me all jittery…" She caught Conall's eye and winced a little, proceeding to busy herself with eating again.

"Well, hurry up and eat," Antonia sighed as Evander took a seat across from her, next to his sister. "Don't want you passing out in training, that's basically a death sentence."

"Better make it fast, I think Oberon is going to have a heart attack," Conall chuckled, smiling as he finished his plate and got up to put a shirt on. Sparrow stared at his back as he disappeared down the hall, and Evander nudged her with his knee.

"What? You're not much to look at," she murmured, wrinkling her nose and excusing herself from the table. She wandered over to Oberon, who was tapping his foot anxiously.

"They're still got ten minutes until it's time," Antonia offered as she waited for an Avox to pour her another glass of water. "Everyone's so nervous today…"

It was five minutes later that Evander set down his fork, and Oberon took that as a cue. "Alright, alright, time to go! We'll see you later! Ta ta, you two!" he said quickly, taking each Jacturna by the arm and escorting them to the elevator. He opened it and sighed, putting his hands to his face, his fingernails painted a luxurious red color today. "Make us proud, will you? Don't be foolish."

"We'll try," Sparrow smiled as she waited with her brother in the elevator. The doors closed soundlessly and they were dropped off in the training complex, where a good number of kids were already waiting. She recognized little Stella from Three, the unnervingly silent boy from Seven, and of course, the intimidating and cocksure Career from One. "I shouldn't be one to make snap judgments, but…I think we ought to steer clear of that one," she whispered to Evander, nodding in the direction of the boy from One.

"Agreed," Evander murmured, and he shuffled closer to the group of tributes along with his sister.

"We're just waiting on two more," the director announced, tapping her fingers together as she watched the elevator. At last, it opened and a small olive-skinned boy slipped out, followed by a pale redheaded girl a few years older. Sparrow recalled seeing them dressed like ships' wheels the previous night, and she winced, feeling embarrassed for them. Ships. Transportation. So they were District Six. Oh, right, they had been right behind her…

"Sorry! Sorry, I…I hit the wrong button," the girl stammered, her cheeks just about as red as her hair. She gulped as she felt twenty-two other pairs of eyes on her, and she and her partner quietly made their way over to the rest of the tributes, embarrassed.

Sparrow smiled at the girl and then she brought her attention back to Atala, whose large brown eyes were observing the children in front of her.

"So here you are, your first day of training. I hope your mentors have given you a good idea of what to expect. The rules are basic, and if you want to use your training to its full potential, I suggest you follow them. First off, there will be no fighting with other tributes. Save it for the arena. Secondly, I advise you not to keep to the weapons. I know that they're appealing and that everyone wants to go for them first, but don't underestimate the importance of the survival stations. Dehydration, starvation, hypothermia, and infection are your worst enemies – not each other." She looked from one end of the group to the other, already able to spot which tributes would be more competitive and which would tend to shy away from the others. "Play nice," she finished, raising an eyebrow as she let them get to work.

Sparrow shared a look with her brother and she grabbed his hand before he could suggest something. "You want to do this thing? It looks fun," she grinned as she led him to a large panel full of buttons, which was connected to a great white screen. She examined the board and saw that each button had the outline of some leaf or plant on it. "I guess you pick the ones that are safe?"

Evander looked intimidated by the vast array of plant pictures; he couldn't begin to identify even one. "I, uh…Ladies first," he stepped aside, letting her in. He watched as she cracked her knuckles and started to slowly press a few buttons.

"Okay, that's a tulip…that's a maple leaf…that's a, uh…" She sighed and began to feel slightly discouraged. Here she had actually been thinking that she had a chance, and now that she was confronted with the simplest of tasks, she felt herself getting smaller, weaker.

"That's a bellflower," a boy's voice suddenly said. Sparrow looked up and smiled as she saw a boy of about seventeen standing there, with wavy, warm brown hair and gray-blue eyes. He spoke with a bit of a soft country accent. "We get them all over the place back home. District Ten," he explained, tapping the button for the bellflower for her. It disappeared from the screen above and he smiled.

"Ten? So…you're the ones who were dressed up as…"

"Cows, yeah. It was unfortunate," he sighed and folded his arms over his chest, looking over at Evander. "You guys are from Five, right? You had the best costumes, I think. My partner was a little jealous," he laughed softly and glanced over at a young girl with dark reddish brown hair, who was effortlessly tying knots at another station. "On the ride over here she wouldn't stop talking about getting all dressed up, and then we met our stylists, who are obsessed with making us be livestock. They're not very creative."

Evander stepped closer to his sister and he examined the boy closely. He was nice, he didn't seem to be a threat at all, but they had to be careful. "What's your name?"

"Milo Rattick," the boy replied, and he shook Evander's hand. "Ainsley, my partner, is a little miffed because our mentors told us to do survival stuff first, so…she needs some alone time," he chuckled quietly.

"You'd think with all the mentors telling us that, there wouldn't be anyone at the weapon stations…and yet there they are," Sparrow murmured as she looked over her shoulder. The dark-haired girl from One was viciously fighting a trainer with a sword, and she smirked with delight when she had him cornered. As was expected, the largest boys were busy drooling over the axes and swords and other lethal weapons, while a few girls were waiting in line to have a turn. The tiny girl from Twelve was being helped up into the rafters by her partner. Sparrow recognized the girl from Six, with that long red hair and snow-white skin, attempting to climb across the monkey bars. She grunted with effort as she swung to the last bar and sighed when she successfully landed on her feet, more or less.

Sparrow looked back at Milo and saw that he had been watching the redheaded girl intently. "You want to help us with these plants? Since you're so good," she said with a smile.

The three of them went to work picking out the safe plants from the dangerous ones, with lots of input from Milo and careful studying from the Jacturnas. They had successfully completed the board when one of the trainers came up to them and patted Evander on the back.

"You might want to try one of the weapons now. A couple of the boys are in trouble for goofing off," he said as he motioned to the boy from One, who was sitting at the knot station with a surly look on his face. Not far away at the camouflage station was the unsettling boy from Seven, who was trying to paint his arm to look like the grass beneath his feet.

"Go for it. I'm going to try my hand at something else," Milo urged the siblings, and he went to find the red-haired girl.

"How about…the bow and arrow?" Evander suggested after he scanned the room. "That looks easy enough…"

Sparrow snorted quietly and shook her head. "I'm going for the big stuff," she answered, and before her brother could reply she was heading for the axes. He sighed as he watched her step up next to the boy from Four, and she grabbed an axe, adjusting to the feel of it in her hand before she looked up at the dummy targets ahead of her. She sucked in a slow, quiet breath and blinked, her eyes refocusing on the bullseye.

The bullseye, the lifeless dummy standing a few dozen yards before her, was what stood between her and getting home. She imagined it in her head; being one of the final two standing, seeing her enemy emerge from the bushes. She didn't know who it was exactly. The face was interchangeable – the boy or girl from One, the boy from Seven, the boy from Four who was standing right next to her, little Stella, maybe even the endearingly awkward girl from Six. It was going to be one of the twenty-three other children in the room. Whoever it was, they were the one thing standing between her freedom, her survival, her peace, her victory. Most importantly, they were all that was keeping her from seeing her family again. Her parents, Aurelia, Arden, Flynn…Flynn…

_"Mama? Mama…"_

_ "Flynn, it's-It's Sparrow, baby, it isn't Mom. It's me, your sister. I got you some water. Drink this up, and I'll sing you back to sleep, okay?"_

_ "Okay…but you're mama. You're my mama. You always come in, you dwess me and sing to me and tuck me in, you make the food…You're mama."_

_ "F-Flynn, I…I just…okay. Alright. Okay, I'm mama. Come on now, drink up and lie back down."_

_ "I love you, mama."_

_ Mama._

With the thought that ridding the world of this one person would bring her back home to her baby brother, Sparrow found a strength in her that she had never known before, the same strength that had been hinted at when she volunteered for Aurelia at the Reaping. It was courage. It was selflessness. It was love.

She threw the axe with a quiet grunt, and after whizzing sharply through the air for a split second, the axe buried itself right into the heart of the practice dummy with a deep thud. The room fell quiet for a moment and she slowly turned to see nearly everyone staring at her. Her brother looked at her in shock, the boy from Four stepped back in nervousness, Stella was grinning, and the girl from One gave her a snobbish, displeased glare.

The boy from One, however, was looking at her like she was fresh meat.


	10. Chapter 10

_We might kiss when we are alone  
__When nobody's watching  
__We might take it home  
__We might make out when nobody's there  
__It's not that we're scared  
__It's just that it's delicate_

_So why do you fill my sorrow  
__With the words you've borrowed  
__From the only place you've known  
__And why do you sing Hallelujah  
__If it means nothing to you  
__Why do you sing with me at all?_

_(Damien Rice)_

* * *

Lunch felt like it dragged on for ages. Sparrow was slightly paranoid, sensing many pairs of eyes on her and hearing whispers that she was afraid were about her. She sat close to her brother as they ate, Milo and Ainsley sitting across from them. The Careers from One and Two had predictably gathered toward one end of the table, and they weren't too keen on anyone else. The boy and girl from Four didn't seem to want to be part of that group, which was somewhat relieving. The smaller the Career pack, the better.

"Can you pass the…um…I'm sorry, I still don't know what any of this stuff is," the redheaded girl from Six laughed shyly as she pointed to a plate of food next to Evander's arm.

Evander handed her the plate and smiled, relieved to find someone else who was kind to him and his sister. If he didn't know better, there seemed to be an alliance in the works – or at least an unspoken agreement not to kill each other unless it was necessary. "What's your name, again?"

"Moira," the girl replied, and Sparrow made a mental note of it. She wanted to know the names of the friendly people, not the ones she would have few qualms about killing. "And you're Sparrow and…Evan…"

"Evander," he finished for her and took a drink of punch.

"Right! I'm sorry, I'm just so scatterbrained…I don't think I'm going to last a minute in these Games, honestly," Moira gave a nervous little laugh, and Sparrow felt bad for her. She reminded her of Aurelia – beautiful, sweet, endearing, innocent, and yet she doubted herself.

"Hey, don't think like that. We've got a couple more days of training and who knows what could happen by then? You might prove to be better with a sword than any of the guys here," the blonde girl replied with a warm smile. "You think I've ever thrown an axe before in my life? That was luck, I'm telling you. Watch us go back tomorrow and I'll throw one into the rafters. They'll make sure I die first for that one."

* * *

"She did _what?_"

Evander was sitting in the main room with Antonia later that evening, after everyone had eaten dinner and the Avoxes were cleaning up. He lounged back on the couch while Antonia scooted forward, sitting on the very edge of the seat, her wide eyes growing even larger with intrigue.

"She just went up to the axes and threw one right into the target. She slaughtered it, and we were all staring at her with our mouths open," he explained.

"No one told her what to do? Nobody instructed her?" Antonia bit her lip and she rubbed her palms together to warm them up, which made the thin gold bracelets around her delicate wrists jingle quietly. "I just…I'm having a hard time believing that…"

"Me too," Evander swallowed. He looked down at the pale green button-up shirt he was wearing, replaying that moment over and over in his head. "I've never seen her look so intense, Antonia. She marched up there and I thought she was going to give it a couple tries and move on to something else, but something happened…something changed in her…"

The small young woman moved closer to him and she put her hand on top of his. "She didn't talk to you about it?"

"We didn't really have time to ourselves, between training and lunch and being lectured," he looked over at her, raising his brows slightly.

Antonia let out a quiet sigh and she leaned forward on her elbows. The muscles and very faint outline of her bones were apparent as her hair fell off her shoulders, exposing what part of her back wasn't covered by her thin blue dress. After a quiet moment, she opened her mouth to speak. "I wouldn't worry about her, Evander. If she's as strong as you say she is, then you shouldn't be afraid. She has a good head on her shoulders, and I think you'll realize her priorities are in order, if you haven't already. Tell me. When was a time you trusted your sister?" she asked, sitting against the back of the couch and waiting patiently for his reply.

_"Sparrow?" Evander knocked at his sister's bedroom door and pushed it open the rest of the way when she told him to come in. "Hey…"_

_ "Hi," she replied with a small smile. It was genuine, but much weaker than her old smile. The old smile was complete with white teeth and dimples and bright eyes. This new, halfhearted smile was given with a closed mouth and a simple upward twitch of her lips. She scooted back against the head of the bed so he could sit next to her, and she pulled her knees up to her chest. "Do you need something?"_

_ His cheeks colored and he looked down at the faded old blanket that covered her bed. "I wanted—" His throat closed up and he cleared it, blushing deeper. "I wanted to come and tell you something…"_

_ His sister furrowed her brow in curiosity and she leaned forward, her hair brushing the tops of her arms. She had cut a good fifteen inches off of it after Huxley died. "Alright, then, tell me," she murmured and raised an eyebrow. Leave it to Evander to beat around the bush and take ten minutes to say what was on his mind. When he still didn't give a coherent reply, she took his hand in hers and gently rubbed the back of it with her thumb. "You know that whatever it is…you can tell me," she said in a softer voice, looking into his eyes with her loving green ones._

_ He opened his mouth and a shaky breath escaped his lips. "I-I asked Aurelia to marry me," he blurted out, and once Sparrow knew she had not hallucinated this, she stopped rubbing his hand. She seemed to freeze altogether; literally, a shiver went down her body._

_ "Oh," she said almost inaudibly. The inner war she had been fighting since Huxley's death was now back in full swing, and the happy news of Evander's sudden engagement felt like a swift stab to the gut. "Oh, Ev…Ev, that's—that's wonderful," she whispered, but her eyes no longer met his. They were looking past him at the wall, at the floor, at anything but his face. "You're getting married…"_

_ Evander could sense the pain in her voice, which he had expected. It had been hard enough to decide to tell her his good news, because the wound Huxley had left was still open. Now he was afraid he had made things worse. "We're still figuring out when it'll be, but it should be soon." He smiled faintly and squeezed her hand before standing up and heading for the door. She didn't look like she wanted company now._

_ "Ev," Sparrow murmured just before he could leave. "I—I really am happy for you. You'll make a great husband…start a family of your own," she smiled weakly. "I'm happy for you," she said again, and with that she laid back down in bed._

"I've always been able to trust her," Evander said after a moment, the memory fresh in his mind. "She puts me before herself. She does that with everyone. Our brothers, our parents, Aura…She's never let anyone down."

Antonia seemed pleased with this answer. "I don't think you've got anything to be afraid of. She's not going to turn into a bloodthirsty monster, Evander. I think she's finding her strength and it's going to be crucial in the arena. You didn't want to be the one with the weapons, did you?"

He shook his head vehemently. "No, I don't think I could do that, even if it was my last option," he swallowed. "Just the thought of it makes my hands all clammy."

She smiled and patted his shoulder reassuringly. "You two will do just fine. Trust me. Trust her. Trust yourself," she said as she stood up and went into her bedroom for the night, her long blue gown trailing behind her.

Evander sighed and he rubbed his eyes as he sat alone in the main room. He laid down on the couch and closed his eyes, hoping to escape the stress of the day with at least a small amount of sleep.

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me at dinner?" Conall frowned, folding his strong arms over his equally broad chest. "Sparrow, that's great! You had every right to brag at the table and you didn't!"

Sparrow was sitting in Conall's room with him like she had the previous night, and while she did feel rather gooey in his presence, talking with him was helping her tremendously. "I'm not the bragging type," she shrugged. She was relieved to have changed into a comfy white sweater and black slacks; that training uniform was only so comfortable and so flattering. "But I guess you've had some kind of effect on me, since I've proven proficient in your weapon of choice," she said with a smile and a flush of her cheeks.

"As long as you don't try to pull a Johanna Mason…that wasn't too long ago. They'll be expecting that," Conall replied with a raise of his eyebrows. "I hope you've got some other strategy up your sleeve?"

"Actually, that's what I came here for," Sparrow admitted, folding her hands in her lap. She started to tap her foot nervously, making a very soft, muffled sound against the plush carpet. "Can you help me? I don't want to be in charge of this…I can't risk making a stupid mistake, not with my brother…"

Her mentor leaned back in his armchair and studied the young girl carefully. Something about her seemed so mysterious. She was for the most part calm and collected, unlike most of the tributes he had seen in his few years of mentoring. But now that they were alone, he was seeing her as more of a vulnerable young woman. A child. Seventeen, but still a child. Still eligible for the Games.

"Please," Sparrow continued in a soft voice. She chewed on her lower lip and felt relief wash over her when he leaned back in and rested his elbows on his knees.

"Tell me what you're thinking."

Good question. What exactly was she thinking of doing? Being the vicious and bloody slaughterer while her brother cowered in a hiding spot the whole time? Sparrow may have been strong, but by no means did she want to be Career-esque. "I…I want to ensure our survival, whatever it takes," she began slowly. "I couldn't live with myself if I hurt someone like Stella, that little girl…but I couldn't go on if Evander got hurt, either. How did you do it?" she asked, her voice very quiet by that time.

Conall sighed and he scratched his chin, which had begun to grow a little bit of stubble. "It's not easy, Sparrow," he said in that deep voice. "I realize that you aren't a killing machine, but that's what this whole thing is. It's meant to test you, to make you do things you don't want to do, because you're weighing two things here – your life, and your values. I didn't want to kill anyone, I didn't enjoy it, but…and don't think less of me for saying this…I knew it was going to happen eventually. Someone was going to kill that handful of people I killed, and I figured it might as well be me, because it would be swift and almost painless, and without malice. The Careers that year, they had some vulgar bet going between them on how many kids each of them could kill. I figure that as long as it's for your own survival, not for sport, then it'll be forgiven in the end, yeah?" He smiled and Sparrow felt her defenses melt away. Why did he have to be so handsome?

"I…yeah, I think that's right," she stammered quietly, feeling like her tongue had turned to jelly. "I just have to be quicker and smarter than whoever's coming for me."

Conall nodded and scooted his chair closer to her, the heavy armchair as light as a cardboard box to him. "How about tomorrow you work on honing your skills with the axes, and let your brother find a weapon, too? He can't rely on you to defend both of you all the time. I know he's liable to faint at the sight of blood, but if he can't handle that, then I don't know how all the visceral stuff is going to get to him. He might die of fright," he chuckled quietly.

Sparrow's lips trembled as they tried to pull up in a weak smile, but it was too much for her to handle and a tear rolled down her left cheek. This was not a pretty situation, no matter how she tried to cut it. Thinking of her brother dying was enough to crush the walls she had worked so hard to put up. "I…I c-can't," she whimpered, and she was too upset to be surprised when Conall scooped her up in his arms and set her down on the bed, lying next to her.

"I didn't mean it like that, Sparrow," he murmured, looking apologetic. "You'll take good care of him."

She looked into his eyes, her own eyes bloodshot and teary. A couple of hot tears rolled down her cheek onto the blanket beneath her and she pulled her legs up to her chest, feeling very small next to him. "H-how do you know that?"

Conall smiled faintly and reached over to stroke her cheek. With a comforting touch of his hand her tears were wiped from her skin. "You will. You have to learn to trust yourself. Don't blame yourself for things that are out of your control," he said in a quiet voice that seemed to soothe her very heart. She sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand, her lower lip still quivering just a bit.

"I t-trust you more than I trust me," she confessed in a whisper. Her green eyes met his and she swallowed back the lump in her throat before she leaned up and gave him a soft, gentle kiss on the lips. It lasted no more than ten glorious seconds, but the feeling sent shivers through her chest and down her spine. Sparrow gradually opened her eyes and looked at him, surprised to see that his cheeks were almost as red as her own. She bit her lower lip and stared at him, silently questioning him.

"Sparrow," he finally murmured, and he cast his eyes downward, not looking directly at her. "I can't…I can't do that. I can't have this with you."

Her complexion paled and she furrowed her brow. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach and her mouth suddenly dried up. "Because you're my mentor?" she asked in a small voice. She still couldn't get him to make eye contact with her, and with each second that dragged on she was getting more and more nervous. "After the Games, if…if I make it, w-we can…"

They could _what?_ Stupid, stupid, stupid. She was a little girl compared to him. He probably thought she was just confused, overwhelmed, letting her emotions get the best of her, and even if they did carry this on – whatever "this" was – she would change her mind once the stress of the Games was over. Find some boy back home, someone who didn't remind her so much of Huxley.

"No, we can't," Conall whispered, finally looking back into her eyes. While those words felt like a knife to her gut, the fatal blow was yet to come. "I'm married, Sparrow. And we're expecting our second baby in a couple of months. We can't do this…I'm sorry," he said quietly. The way he said it was obviously meant to be as gentle as possible, but it killed her inside all the same. It was then that she realized the small silver band on the fourth finger of his left hand wasn't there for nothing.

"Oh-oh," she blurted, gave a weak nod and gritted her teeth together so that she wouldn't let out a pathetic sob. She rolled over and got up with considerable difficulty, unable to bear the idea of looking back at him. She left his room and with as much strength as she could manage, she disappeared into her own room, the door shutting loudly behind her. The day had started with so much promise, and here she had gone and ruined it – maybe even ruined it all. She heard voices talking quietly outside her door and she knew it would be Oberon and maybe Antonia, curious as to why she had shut herself up. No one would suspect it was Conall, and no one could begin to understand where she was coming from, except possibly Evander. But how could he relate, when he had everything that she had lost?

* * *

_AN: Hi everyone! If you've read this far, I want to thank you so much for supporting me. I may not get many reviews, but I truly do appreciate each and every one of them. I hope that you're enjoying the story so far, and I promise that the pace will pick up soon! I have some great ideas for future chapters and can't wait for you to see them. Leave me a review or a message with any suggestions or constructive criticism, and I will gladly return the favor for your writing as well! Again, I want to genuinely thank you for giving me the push to go on. I'm going through a really stressful time in my life and writing is my escape - if I don't have a reason for doing it, then I'm truly miserable. See you next time! ;)_


	11. Chapter 11

_Black wall will lift away but some may say  
__You pushed away the distant light  
__It's growing dim, forget about him  
__Don't look back, you're all alone_

_Falling down will be the hardest part  
__Running far, it's always hard  
__Push the pressure and stop the bleed  
__On your knees, begging please_

_Body __weakens and then the mind  
__But the heart will lead if you get some sleep  
__You're all alone  
__Don't look back, you're all alone_

_(Kissing Cousins)_

* * *

Bitter. Irritable, sullen, and bitter was how Sparrow woke up the next morning. She arose an hour too early and glared at the window the entire time, flipping through the different scenes at least a dozen times. City street, desert, forest, ocean, mountain, cornfield. City street, desert, forest, ocean, mountain, cornfield. City street, desert…forest…

_"I'm home!" Evander called as he walked through the front door of the Jacturnas' home. He slipped out of his boots and stepped aside to let a strange boy in. The new boy was Evander's height, with dark blond hair and the absolute brightest blue eyes. Sparrow was watching from the kitchen, her green eyes wide as she saw the visitor. He was wearing the same uniform as Evander, so he must have come from the power plant too. She hid behind the doorway, her hands propped against the wall as she observed the new boy._

_ "I brought someone home, if that's okay," Evander continued as he hung up his dusty jacket and offered to do the same with his friend's. "His name's Huxley, he works with me." He smiled at the handsome boy and led him into the kitchen._

_ "Hey, there, almost stepped on you!" Huxley grinned as he bumped into Sparrow. She was two weeks away from her fifteenth birthday, but already she was as beautiful as any other girl. Her cheeks flushed and she stood there looking quite embarrassed. "Is this your sister, Evander?"_

_ Evander smiled but he looked a bit confused. Usually Sparrow would have no qualms about introducing herself; he had never seen her freeze up like this before. "Yeah, that's Sparrow." He ruffled his sister's hair and went to help his mother serve dinner to the two little boys and their father._

_ "Hi," Sparrow finally whispered, feeling dwarfed by the tall young man. "I'm…I'm Sparrow…" She held out her hand and blinked when he shook it, his grip firm and warm._

_ "Huxley Fisk, at your service," he winked and didn't let go of her hand for a few moments. "You're eighteen, right? So it wouldn't be weird if I asked you out?"_

_ Sparrow could feel her legs turn to jelly but she somehow resisted the urge to faint. "I—I'm…fifteen," she blurted._

_ "Not yet!" Arden called from the table, grinning hugely. "Sparrow's only fourteen, she's not allowed to date!"_

_ "Arden, sit down," Mrs. Jacturna laughed and shook her head. "It's bad manners to stand on your chair!"_

_ The boy pouted and plopped back down onto his chair, but he was now making obnoxious kissing noises, much to his sister's chagrin._

_ "I…I mean I'll be fifteen in a couple of weeks," Sparrow tried again, and she felt like her whole body was blushing now._

_ Huxley chuckled, his voice so deep and friendly. "We can make that work, can't we? I'll be here when your parents decide to set you free." He winked again and pulled out a chair at the table for her._

"Sparrow! Sparrow, wake up! We're going to be late!"

Sparrow awoke for the second time that morning to the sight of Oberon about to swat her with a washcloth. She grumbled something and rolled out of bed onto the floor, crawling over to the closet and eventually dragging herself up. She threw off her nightgown and Oberon shrieked, shielding his eyes.

"Miss Jacturna, please!" he cried, trying to escape the bedroom without seeing any more of the blonde girl's naked form.

Sparrow sighed once her escort left the room and she was free to dress in peace. She pulled on her bra and underwear, examining herself in the mirror. The extra food she had been eating since stepping onto the train was showing a little, but it wasn't major. If anything, it gave her curves some more presence, not that they needed it. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the cool glass of the mirror, hugging her arms over her chest. Huxley's hands had been so much warmer than her own, and she was aching to feel them just one more time. It was what she needed to get through this.

* * *

_Thunk._

Evander opened his mouth to say something to his sister, but every time he tried, he was interrupted by the whiz and thunk of an axe as it flew through the air and buried itself into some section of a dummy's body.

"Sparrow…"

_Thunk._

"Sparrow, I—"

_Thunk._

"I'm out," Sparrow mumbled and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. She finally looked over at her brother, who looked slightly afraid of her. She bit her lip, feeling her stomach lurch. What was she doing? She was scaring poor Evander; she was being completely irrational, all because Conall had rejected her. But he had done so for a very legitimate reason. Sparrow didn't want to make it through all this only to go back to Five a homewrecker. She knew exactly how invaluable family was to a person, and it would be the worst thing she could do to ruin someone else's happiness. It wasn't a warm and fuzzy feeling, watching everyone else around her fall in love and marry and have children, but she didn't want to make everything into a pity party anymore. That was weak, and she had resolved to be strong.

"Evvie," she whispered and swallowed. She looked around the training center and then gave him a hug, quietly nuzzling against him. "I'm letting it get the best of me…make it stop," she murmured, slowly looking up at him. She sighed and held him tighter, saying so much with just that simple embrace.

"Cute," the boy from One smirked as he walked by and yanked the throwing axes from the three dummies before them. The way he sneered and walked around with his head held high and his muscles flexing at every given opportunity just made Sparrow despise this all the more. If it weren't for the Games, she would never have to deal with people like him, let alone fight them to the death. But here they were, twenty-four children pitted against one another with no concern for fairness. Careers would crush anyone not in their pack as easily as they would destroy small twelve-year-olds. Sparrow was determined not to let them win this one.

"Sorry. Guess I'll try to be a little less human next time," she muttered back, not about to give the boy the satisfaction of knowing he had irritated her.

"Rex," the boy's district partner murmured as she stepped up behind him and set a hand on his shoulder. Her dark hair was chopped off just above the shoulders and she looked like she could kill someone with those icy eyes. "Rex, let's go do some climbing, hmm? I think we've perfected just about everything else." She glared at the Jacturnas and led Rex to the climbing station.

"Aren't they just a cup of tea?" Moira laughed in her breathy, nervous way. She had appeared unnoticed at the axe station and was picking at her fingernails. "That girl shoved me out of line at the fire-building station. She's so rude," she whispered, shaking her head.

Evander chewed on the inside of his cheek as he watched the boy and girl from One climb up the net like a couple of animals. "Maybe they'll be killed by their own egos," he suggested, which made the girls laugh. He looked over as he saw someone approaching them, and he smiled when he saw that it was Milo. "Hey there."

Moira's cheeks colored and she gave Milo a sheepish smile. "Oh, hi, Milo. I didn't see you there," she giggled quietly, trying to make it seem as if she hadn't been watching him the entire time they had been training today.

Milo smiled back at the red-haired girl and stood next to her, a sight that made Sparrow smile, but of course there was always that twinge in her heart. Two people who were undeniably attracted to one another, who had developed feelings that would grow into something so lovely that nothing could ever replace it – she missed that terribly.

"I wanted to ask you guys something," Milo said quietly, which snapped Sparrow out of her daze. The three of them turned their attention to him and waited for him to go on. "I don't know if this is…if this is how this works, but…I want to make an alliance," he continued, his eyes scanning each of their faces. "To be frank, I really don't want to fight against any of you, because I trust you. Maybe that's a bad call on my part, but…if I'm gonna die, I'd rather not be alone when it happens," he added with a halfhearted laugh.

Evander nodded and he held out his hand to shake Milo's. "We won't let that happen, right, Sparrow?"

His sister nodded and smiled. "Maybe if we make a big enough team, we can just refuse to kill eachother and make it out, huh?"

Moira looked at Milo with such adoration, it was impossible not to see what she felt for him. "I won't leave your side," she whispered, and Sparrow could feel her blood chill. She had said those exact words to Huxley not long ago, she had looked at him like that, she had fallen head over heels for him and never recovered. Now she just hoped things wouldn't turn out as badly for these two.

* * *

"Antonia?" Conall knocked quietly at his fellow mentor's door. He opened up when she replied and he closed the door behind him, greeting her with a deep sigh.

"Something happened," she murmured, able to sense it without even looking at him. She closed her book and set it aside, her feet propped up on the ottoman in front of her armchair. "Sit down and tell me, Conall."

The large young man sat down across from her and rested his elbows on his knees, his hands folded in front of him. "She—I had no idea it was going to happen, I just…It suddenly did, and I sat there like an idiot until I finally told her that I couldn't do it," he said quietly, only looking up at Antonia after a moment's pause. "She kissed me, Antonia. And the worst part is that I upset her. I told her the truth, that I've got Nina at home and another baby coming, but maybe I shouldn't have been so blunt."

"So that's why our little bird was so on edge today," the tawny-haired young woman replied. "She didn't say that she was in love with you or anything?"

"She didn't have to," he whispered. "There was something she felt, I don't think it was love, but…whatever it was, it was enough to break her when I denied it. I could see right through her, Antonia. Usually I'm not good at that by any means, but it's like I could see her heart break. And that makes me feel terrible."

Antonia bit her lip and sat there quietly for a minute. "There's a lot in you that she admires, Conall. Your humor, your warmth, your openness. Let's just say that we girls had some bonding time, and I understand where she's coming from. It isn't just some little schoolgirl crush; it means a lot more to her. It isn't necessarily you that she's hung up about, it's…someone eerily like you," she murmured. She stood up and sat down on the couch next to him, the silk white robe around her small frame giving her a ghostlike quality. She took his hand in hers and sighed deeply. "It's not my place to tell you what happened to her, but just know that she hasn't had it so easy. Be careful with her," Antonia said in her soft voice. She squeezed his hand and smiled faintly. "I'm going to bed. We've got a long day tomorrow, remember?"

And so they did. Tomorrow was the day of the evaluations, and it was almost the last chance Sparrow and Evander would have of making a good impression before they were thrown into the arena.


	12. Chapter 12

_We all do what we can  
__So we can do just one more thing  
__We won't have a thing  
__So we've got nothing to lose  
__We can all be free  
__Maybe not with words  
__Maybe not with a look  
__But with your mind_

_(Cat Power)_

* * *

With each person that walked out of the training center, the Jacturnas were getting more nervous. It was an eternity of waiting until the girl from District Four, Mira, was called in. She pursed her lips and quietly made her way into the room, and suddenly Evander found himself at the front of the line.

"Evander," Sparrow said in a quiet, wary voice. Her eyes went to his rapidly tapping foot and she leaned back against the wall. "Come on, it'll be over before you know it. Now is definitely not the time to be nervous. Did you remember to go to the bathroom before we came down?" She cocked an eyebrow at him.

Her brother gave her a look and sighed, but she could sense the anxiety in just that single breath. "I don't even know what I'm going to do. I mean, I thought about it, but…but what am I supposed to do? The best thing I had going for me was the poisonous plant thing."

"Then do that, but with your eyes closed," Sparrow suggested and gave a halfhearted laugh. She then turned serious and set a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "If you could just sit there and talk to them for fifteen minutes, they'd give you a twelve. But I don't know what goes on in there, no one does, so you'll have to do it on your own."

He nodded and sighed yet again, his hands folded in his lap while he kept tapping his foot nervously.

"Hang in there," Moira smiled at the pair. She had pulled her strawberry-colored hair into a high ponytail that brought out the freckles on her face. "None of those nasty Careers can watch you in there. That's what I'm telling myself, that it's all me, and as long as I'm confident I stand a chance of not getting a one," she laughed and then peeked down the line at Milo, who was rubbing the back of his hand with his thumb. He had injured it while practicing climbing, but he was determined not to make a big deal out of it as long as people were watching.

"Evander Jacturna," the computerized woman's voice rang through the room. Evander turned pale and even a little green as he registered the sound of his own name. It took a little push from Sparrow, but he eventually stood up and slowly made his way to the door.

"Kill them with kindness, Ev," she smiled and gave him a little wave. "You've got this."

But Evander did not feel like he had this, one way or another. He gulped audibly as he walked into the room and the doors sealed shut within nanoseconds of him stepping inside. What was he supposed to do? All the stations were there – arrows, axes, swords, knives, clubs, weights, ropes, climbing, the survival skills – but it was as if he could feel whatever skill he had drain out of his body. He felt very much like a marshmallow; that was the first image that came to mind. The Jacturnas had been introduced to marshmallows on the train and ever since Evander had eaten several handfuls of them, his sister had jokingly called him one. And now he realized she was very right, whether she meant to be or not.

There was one man at the forefront of the group of Gamemakers who was considerably younger than his cohorts, in that his hair was not yet gray. Even from the floor below, Evander could see his chilling blue eyes and the look on his face that quite resembled a hawk about to dive in and eat some helpless rodent. The man stroked his chin and gave a slight nod as he looked over at his fellow men.

"I'm…I'm Evander Jacturna, from District…" Where was he from? "District Five!" Evander blurted, and he knew that with that very clumsy introduction he had already blown it.

"Alright," the man murmured, still looking very predatory. He was probably thinking how best to ruin this boy, who looked perfectly capable of surviving but in reality was about as useful as a field mouse. "Go ahead."

"Don't spend your fifteen minutes standing there and blabbering!" one of the older men laughed, his outlandishly curled hair bouncing as he did so. "Get on with it!"

"Give him a chance, he looks like he's about to soil himself," another man chuckled and took a bite of some exotic-looking fruit. The sound of him chewing made Evander's skin crawl and he then jumped into action, as if that had flipped a switch somewhere inside of him.

"Okay," he whispered to himself, and his azure eyes scanned the room for something to do. He settled on the climbing station so that he could at least do something while he thought of how best to show his strength. With a grunt he jumped onto the net and it turned with his weight, leaving him dangling above the floor. He swallowed and painstakingly pulled himself up inch by inch. His feet searched for a hole to step into and he cried out as a muscle cramp shot right up his left arm. He looked like a newborn kitten struggling to walk, but he wasn't getting as much sympathy as a kitten would.

The sound of the Gamemakers chuckling at him and cracking jokes while eating their meal made his face burn. Evander grunted again and thrust himself up to the top of the net at last, where he brushed his head against the ceiling. As soon as he looked down, he saw Aurelia's face through the net.

"Remember that time I ran to you after you got out of the factory, and you tried to catch me, but we both fell down in the dirt?" She giggled and her face lit up with that thousand-watt smile. "I was still in love with you, even if you didn't prove to be a very coordinated prince charming!"

Evander's mouth dropped open and he was so shocked that he let go of the net. He plummeted to the floor below with a loud thump and he immediately felt the soreness in his backside. When he looked back at where Aurelia had been, she was gone without a trace. He couldn't hear the Gamemakers uproarious laughter for all the ringing in his ears, but he knew that their reaction couldn't be good. Without even turning to face them, he got up and swiftly walked out of the room through the pair of doors that wouldn't take him back to the other tributes. He couldn't face them now, after he had so awfully humiliated himself. There was no way he could face anyone.

* * *

"Sparrow Jacturna."

Sparrow looked up as she heard her name in the same monotone voice that had called her brother and the eight tributes before him. She gave Milo and Moira a smile, seeming much more confident than her brother, but inside she felt butterflies. "See you later," she waved to them and went inside the doors that had swallowed her brother. When she looked around, it seemed as though she was the first person to arrive. Everything looked untouched, and she found herself worrying about Evander. What had he done? Was he alright?

"Sparrow Jacturna, from District Five," she said to the men above her, giving them a friendly smile. She sensed the Head Gamemaker's icy eyes on her and it gave her an uneasy feeling, but she walked over to the throwing axe station without a hitch.

"Let's see if she's any better than her brother," the man murmured and licked his lips. He watched as the golden-haired girl's hand hovered over the axes and she finally decided on the first one she would throw. Her stance and grip were confident, and if it were up to him – which it was, in a way – he would have chosen her for a top contender. Little did he know what she was about to show him.

Sparrow licked her lips and she tucked some of her hair behind her ear, feeling a heat rise in her body as she held the axe in her hand. Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the cool metal handle and the weapon absorbed her heat. A lineup of dummies sat before her, targets neatly painted on them. Without further hesitation, she readied herself and aimed for the one in the middle.

_"Evander?" Sparrow whispered. Her voice was almost gone with fear and her eyes were wider than they had ever been. She could feel the blood freeze in her veins as her brother shook his head._

_ "He stayed behind, he helped some of the other guys get out. I…I'm sorry, Sparrow…"_

_ She gritted her teeth and looked around at the loud, smoky mess surrounding them. Other men dressed in the power plant uniforms were hugging their families or sitting on the ground with their heads in their hands, trying to grasp what had just happened. She spotted someone, though, who looked more guilty than relieved. Without even thinking about it she headed over to him and grabbed his wrist._

_ "What happened? Tell me the truth," she snapped, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Tell me what happened! I know it didn't just blow up, something happened!"_

_ The young man swallowed nervously and shook his head. "W-we were carrying deliveries up top, like usual, and…and I don't know, it just…I guess something malfunctioned!"_

_ He was lying. He had had a part in this, and she knew it. He didn't look so suspicious for nothing._

_ "You're a liar! You did something, somebody screwed up, somebody killed him!" she yelled. "And it's your mistake that did it, you…you murderer!"_

_ She was making no sense to anyone who was listening, but in her mind it was right. Huxley would never die because of a simple accident. If her strong, brilliant Huxley were going to die, it would be as a hero, not as a victim._

_ "You liar! He's dead and you did it! You messed up and it killed him! You're a damned liar, you son of a bitch!" She was screaming now, and her brother and best friend had come over to reign her in._

_ "Sparrow, stop! It was an accident!" Evander insisted, taking her by one arm while Aurelia held the other. His sister was attempting to wriggle out of their grasp, kicking and screaming like she hadn't done since she was two years old. She burst into tears and sobbed hysterically, screaming obscenities at the man between gasps for air._

_ "Come on, let's go home," Aurelia whispered and she bit her lip as Sparrow struggled against them, but she eventually tired out and collapsed in a lump on the ground._

By the time Sparrow stopped daydreaming, she had thrown all seven small axes into the dummies. None had missed the bullseye by more than half an inch, and they were all buried deep within the targets as a testament to her strength. She stood there surprised for a moment, surveying her work, and then looked up at the Gamemakers. A couple of them gave low whistles of admiration, while some raised their eyebrows. Mostly they looked astonished. Not only was this girl beautiful, but she was deadly – sure to become a favorite not only of the districts, but of the Capitol as well. And President Snow would very much want to take advantage of that.

* * *

"I don't even want to know," Evander groaned, but his sister coaxed him out to the sitting room anyway. He muttered some self-degrading remarks under his breath and shuffled over to a couch, sitting next to Antonia while Sparrow sat on his other side. Conall took up an entire couch by himself, and Lennox and Imogen, the siblings' stylists, were anxiously watching the television from where they stood.

"What even happened in there?" Conall laughed as he saw how morose Evander was. He briefly made eye contact with Sparrow, but she looked down at her lap and swallowed after a moment. "You didn't wet yourself, did you?"

"Why does everyone insist on making bathroom jokes at my expense?" Evander sighed and sank into the couch, wishing it would just swallow him up. His evaluation had been an embarrassment on a national level, and he was grateful that no one but the Gamemakers had seen it. If Aurelia had really witnessed that, not just an imagined Aurelia, he might have died of shame.

"And here we are with the training scores, fresh from the evaluations earlier today!" Caesar announced from the screen, holding a piece of paper in front of him. "Rex Harding, from District One, with a score of ten," he nodded as a fittingly arrogant portrait of Rex appeared onscreen. Sparrow grimaced, knowing just how much he would be gloating right now. "Carina Stavely from District One scored a ten as well!" The short-haired girl from One appeared next and while she did not look nearly as arrogant as her partner, there was an unsettling quality to her demeanor.

"Off to a good start," Conall murmured and quietly ate his pastry.

The tributes from Two, Malin and Valeria, scored an eight and a seven, respectively. They were much less threatening than Rex and Carina, for sure, but it was never wise to underestimate anyone from a Career district.

"Oh! There's the little girl," Sparrow whispered as the small blonde girl from Three appeared. Stella Drew had earned a respectable score of eight, and Sparrow couldn't help feeling happy for her. "Good for her," she smiled and then looked over at Evander while the District Four tributes were graded. "You alright? You know, it's just a number. Fifteen minutes doesn't mean much in the long run."

Her brother let out a long sigh and bit his lip as his own face showed up on the screen. "Oh, god," he mumbled and covered his eyes, but peeked through his fingers out of curiosity.

"Evander Jacturna, from District Five…with a score of three."

_Three?!_

Conall burst out laughing but covered his mouth after no more than two seconds, his cheeks turning pink. "Oh, wow…Evander, you're the underdog this year, I think," he chuckled quietly and sat up straight, reaching over to pat his knee. "Hey. It's okay. Sparrow's right, it's just a number," he smiled reassuringly. He glanced over at the young girl and smiled at her as well, but they were all soon distracted by Sparrow's photo on the television.

"His sister Sparrow Jacturna, with a score of…ten," Caesar grinned approvingly, his teeth a blinding shade of white. The photo of Sparrow with her wavy blonde hair down past her shoulders and a serious expression on her face made her look like some sort of warrior princess.

"Oh, my," Imogen let out a sigh of relief. "Well, that's over! Now we just have to work extra hard on you, Evander, dear," she looked over at the boy and gave him a sympathetic smile. "No worries!"

"Yeah, no worries," Evander muttered and he looked over at his sister. "You've got enough for the both of us, right?" He smiled weakly.

Sparrow kissed his cheek and rested her head on his shoulder. "They didn't get to see the best of you, that's all, Ev. We're gonna make it, you and me. We've got the best mentors, the smartest stylists, and some strong alliances already. Come on, we have to get home," she whispered and smiled at him, her eyes bright and hopeful. Maybe the three Evander had earned wasn't so bad, after all. Sure, it meant he was a sitting duck to anyone who could wield a weapon, but maybe they would leave him alone and figure that he'd die early on. Sparrow wasn't going to let that happen, though. She was determined to be his protector, whatever the cost.

"Well, tomorrow we have the interviews, and we have the loveliest outfits in store," Imogen gushed and clapped her hands together. She went over to pinch Evander's cheeks and then giggled, disappearing with Lennox to finalize the last outfits their tributes would wear in an attempt to show themselves off.

"Ah, yes, interviews…Lovely," Conall laughed and he scratched his stubbly chin. "You still up for training, birdie?"

Sparrow looked over at him and maintained eye contact for the first time since their little incident. The sight of him still made her palms clammy and her throat close up. "I'm up for anything," she murmured. "Whatever it takes."


	13. Chapter 13

_You come around and the armor falls  
__Pierce the room like a cannon ball  
__Now all we know is don't let go  
__We are alone, just you and me  
__Up in your room and our slates are clean  
__Just twin fire signs, four blue eyes_

_So you were never a saint  
__And I've loved in shades of wrong  
__We learn to live with the pain  
__Mosaic broken hearts  
__But this love is brave and wild_

_(Taylor Swift)_

* * *

"I think I'm going to throw up."

Antonia sighed and she folded her arms across her chest, the silky fabric of her cerulean dress hanging off of her small frame. "Please don't do that. I can't think of anyone who would sponsor someone with serious gastrointestinal issues. Now, close your eyes, take a couple of deep breaths. You have to at least be comfortable around me. I know you are, because I've gotten to know you so well. I'm a lot like you, Evander, you know that…" She walked over to the tall boy and set her hands on his shoulders, looking up at him. "If I did it, you can, too."

He swallowed and shook his head, making a gulping sound that indeed resembled that of a person about to vomit. His face was pale and his forehead was slightly shiny with sweat. "I c-can't…I can't breathe just thinking about it! There's how many people out there watching me? Staring at me, whispering about me…and we're going after all the Careers, so…so why bother?" he blurted and slumped down into an armchair.

The doe-eyed woman set her hands on her hips and bit her lower lip. "Why bother? _Why bother?_ Evander, you aren't giving up now. This is only day three, and who knows how long you'll be in the arena? All I know is that we're getting you out of there, and your chances are hanging on tonight. You can be funny, charming, smart, whatever you want to come off as – but I don't want you pretending to be anything. You're you. Now tell me, what makes you what you are?"

He opened his mouth and then closed it again, looking off to the side, genuinely stumped.

"Love, you only have three minutes. I don't want to watch you sit there with your mouth hanging open the whole time. Come on, now, tell me what makes Evander Jacturna who he is." She sat down across from him, crossed her legs, and neatly folded her hands in her lap.

The blond young man hesitated a moment longer, and then his brain seemed to activate. He was seeing his brothers, his sister, his parents, the humble house they all lived in…He was seeing his new bride and the belly she had been sporting for months now, and a small smile appeared on his lips as he thought of their baby. "I'm a father," he whispered. "Well, technically…She hasn't had the baby yet, but I'm still, you know," he said as his smile grew a little wider.

Antonia smiled in return and nodded. "Good, good…The audience isn't used to a tribute in your position, that's for sure, but I can't imagine anyone _not_ being a sucker for babies," she grinned, that rare twinkle in her wide eyes. "So you're a new father with a very sweet wife at home, yes? I'm not going to try and put words in your mouth, Evander. Just tell me what exactly is on your mind. Don't be scared."

He nodded and racked his brain for a few moments. "I want to go back home to her, to the baby, to my family. Our family. I want—I want to win not because of the money and all that, but because it means I have a chance at seeing them again. Taking care of them, that's what makes me happy," he said quietly.

"Your child needs to have a father," Antonia agreed. "Nobody can deny that. You're young, but you know exactly what you need to do, Evvie."

Evander froze for a moment and he felt his heart skip a few beats. Evvie. No one called him that except Aurelia, and the sound of those two simple syllables hitting his ears made him tingle.

"Isn't that right? Evvie? Are you listening to me? Yoo-hoo!" A sweet giggle came from the seat across the room and Evander's eyes boggled as he saw Aurelia sitting there. Her fingers were dancing across her belly and she was smiling from ear to ear. "My goodness, I don't want you spacing out today! Remember that girl from Three who just sat there like a statue last year? She had drool on her lip! We felt so bad, but we were laughing at her! Oh, now I feel awful…I don't want to be laughing at you," she shook her head and sighed. "I guess now I sort of know how it feels to watch someone you love up there…" She bit her lip, those rich brown eyes watching him carefully. "Are you still in there, Evvie?"

Evander couldn't believe his eyes as he saw his wife sitting there, right in front of him, for the third time since arriving in the Capitol. She had been but a phantom before, albeit a very convincing one. Now he was sure that he was either getting the surprise of his life, or hallucinating again. He didn't want to ruin the moment by realizing it was the latter. Each time he thought of touching her soft hair, her smooth skin, and her warm lips, it made everything seem like it would be okay, even if it wouldn't be.

"I don't want to do this," he whispered. "Is it so bad that…that I wanted someone to volunteer for me? But no, nobody could be kind like Sparrow. Apparently every other guy in the crowd had something better to do with his life," he mumbled, being unusually sour. Evander was typically mild, without a word of criticism for anyone but himself. His sister had been right, though – the Games were bringing out the worst in them. Her jealousy and his fear were threatening their chances of making it out alive, or at least of having a fighting chance.

"Evvie," Aurelia frowned, something she rarely did. "You know that it was beyond our control. It was something none of us could have prevented, and it isn't your fault that you're here. You're going to make me proud," she said softly and reached over to hold his hands in hers. She was so warm, like always, and just the feeling of her skin against his made him close his eyes. He could practically smell home. "You're going to make all of us proud, and we're waiting for you," she whispered in his ear. Her lips brushed against his cheek and he could feel her smile.

"I don't know if I can even make it a single day," he furrowed his brow, and there was that sinking feeling in his gut. "Even all this training is making me feel so alone, so…like a fish out of water—"

Aurelia put a finger to his lips and shook her head. "Don't underestimate yourself. I never thought of you as anything less than perfect." She smiled and gave him another gentle kiss, this time on his lips, and when Evander opened his eyes he was staring right into Antonia's face.

"Evander? Oh, thank God," she sighed, sounding relieved. She stopped fanning him and set her hands on her hips. "You dozed off or something, I don't know what, but one minute we were talking and the next…you had this glazed look in your eyes, and you were mumbling to yourself." She raised her eyebrows at him curiously.

Evander looked just as confused as she did. "I…I, um…" He couldn't tell her that he had seen Aurelia no less than three times since arriving in the Capitol. She would think he was insane. "I'm just tired, I haven't slept much lately."

Antonia paused a moment before slowly nodding her head, as if she were still suspicious of him. She was very keen when it came to detecting a lie. "Alright, well maybe you should rest up. The last thing I want you doing is falling asleep on the stage. Go on, go to bed," she said quietly and watched him leave her room for his own.

* * *

"I'm Sparrow Jacturna from District Five. I have three brothers, one of whom came here with me. I volunteered so that my best friend, Aurelia, who is expecting a baby very soon, wouldn't have to come. My family means everything to me and I'm going to do all I can to ensure my brother's and my survival, so that we can go home to our loved ones. I would consider myself smart and strong-willed, but not cocky. I don't want to hurt anyone, but I won't hesitate if someone intended to hurt us. How does that sound?"

Sparrow was sitting in the living room with Conall, wearing a long white dress and ridiculously high heels. She had been working with him on the interview process all afternoon and it had been awkward, to say the least.

"I, um…Yeah, that's good, but don't spit it all out like a biography," he chuckled nervously. She was giving him looks that were less than amused, looks that were the complete opposite of what she was like only a few days ago. He couldn't help feeling guilty about what had happened between them; it was like his denial of her had taken the spark out of her. "He's gonna ask you questions, remember? You'll have a chance to say what you need to say…Come on, Sparrow…" He reached over to take her hand and was surprised that she let him do it.

Her green eyes flashed over to his and she stared at him, unblinking.

"I know it's hard, but I want you to pull through. If not for me, then for your brother. Your other brothers, Aurelia, everyone at home who wants you to come back," he said softly and squeezed her hand.

"There's nobody left at home who really cares about me," she muttered. "It's all about Evander…I…" She swallowed and buried her face in her hands, sighing deeply. "I promised I would stop pitying myself, and now look at me…It's all I can do," she mumbled and looked up at him, her cheeks red.

Conall opened his mouth but he figured that whatever he said would hurt her in some way. "Do you want to take a break?" he asked quietly. "I'll come back to check on you, okay?" He gave her a small smile as she got up and headed down the hall towards her bedroom. "Don't give up just because of a stupid mistake."

Sparrow frowned as his words registered in her ears. A stupid mistake? Did he mean her mistake? Surely he wouldn't call her stupid, but who knew? She swallowed and shook her head, holding her skirt up as she walked down the hall.

Antonia's eyes lingered on the doorway as Sparrow walked by in a pair of heels. "Sparrow?"

The blonde girl, who was about four inches taller in her shoes, stopped and wobbled for a second. "Yes?" If she was uncomfortable in those high heels, she wasn't showing it. Lennox must have been drilling her on how to walk like a model, or at least not like an epileptic dog.

"Take off the shoes and come in here," Antonia smiled and held the door open for her. She watched as Sparrow slipped out of the heels and sat down, immediately starting to rub her feet. "Has Lennox been teaching you how to walk? You know, for such a short distance he always seems to make such a big deal out of it…"

"Conall, actually," Sparrow replied with a small smile, her voice quiet. "I've been working with him all day." She bit her lip and rubbed her foot harder, relieved to feel the pain fade away.

"Oh," Antonia blinked. After hearing what had happened and observing the strained, awkward behavior (or lack thereof) between Conall and Sparrow, she had figured they were still avoiding one another. "You mean…"

Her tribute shrugged. "It was stupid of me to do that, but I couldn't…I couldn't help myself," she said softly. She bit her lower lip and stared off into the distance at a random spot on the carpet. "It's like I'm being taunted, teased…he's so much like him." Her voice was now simply a whisper, and her eyes began to well up a little. After a few moments she directed her attention back to Antonia and blinked, which left only a hint of tears in her eyes. "Am I crazy? You can be honest. Tell me if I'm nuts for wishing he was back, trying to make other people into him."

Antonia didn't have to ask if she was talking about Huxley. Ever since Sparrow had confessed the story of her and Huxley's passionate but doomed time together on the train, it had stuck with her and haunted her in her dreams. Sleep almost always eluded her because it was better to stay awake than face her nightmares, but when she did dream now, it was of Sparrow and Evander. She imagined what they were like before they had been pulled into the Games, what it was like to see them happy and not contemplating what could very well be their last days on earth.

"You aren't crazy, Sparrow," Antonia murmured. "I lost everyone, and now it's just me and Conall, and whoever we mentor every year. I know what it is to lose a part of yourself. But don't dwell on it, or it's going to destroy you, okay? You're going to be alright. Tomorrow's the interview, and I know you're doing to do an amazing job. You just have to forget all the doom and gloom, alright?" She gave her a comforting smile and squeezed her hand. "Sleep on it, love. Your brother's trying to take a nap right now, I think, and it wouldn't be a bad idea for you to join him. You're going to need all the sleep you can get." She stood up and kissed the top of the blonde girl's head.

* * *

_"Evander?"_

_ Evander roused from his dreams at the feeling of two little hands on his backside. He rolled over and saw his baby sister, all of four years old, standing beside his bed. "What is it, Sparrow?" he asked sleepily and rubbed his eyes._

_ "I had a bad dream," she whispered in reply. Her green eyes were huge and framed by full blonde bangs. She looked like a porcelain doll. "I…I had a dream that the big snake monsters were comin', an—an—and they were gonna get you, an we had to run but my feet got stuck in the trees, and they grew big hands and they grabbed me…I could feel their teeth," she sniffled and wiped her nose with her faded old nightgown that she had outgrown a year before. "They hurt, Evander…they were big and sharp a-and they smelled bad…"_

_ The older boy sighed and he sat up in bed, the sheet rumpled by his feet. He grunted as he picked Sparrow up and set her in his lap. She immediately curled into a tiny ball against him, still sniffling. "They aren't gonna get us, Sparrow," he murmured. He began to pet her curly hair with his hand, already quite bigger than her even though he was just over a year older than her. "They're far away, and they can't come here. We're safe in our house, and we have mommy and daddy, and we won't get reaped. I promise. We're gonna be okay," he reassured her as he kept playing with her hair._

_ Sparrow looked up at him, her eyes ringed with red. "Y-you're suppose ta say they're not real, Evvie…You're suppose ta say it was just a bad dream, and there's no bad monsters that can get me and eat me and poop out my bones," she whispered, two trails of tears running down her chubby cheeks._

_ He bit his lip and looked down at her. He was only six years old, but he was a very smart boy, and he knew that his little sister could not afford to grow up so gullible and ignorant. "I can't say that, because they are real. They make monsters like that to scare us, and to keep us scared forever. They're as real as we are, but…but someday they're gonna be stopped, if people fight them. They can hurt us, Sparrow, because they're not just in bad dreams."_

_ "But you're gonna beat them up, right, Evander?" she asked in her tiny voice, her eyes still wide. "Right? You're gonna stop them?"_

_ He nodded and kissed the top of her head. "That's right. Now lie down, come on…that's it. You can sleep with me, and I promise I'm gonna keep the monsters away from you, okay?"_

_ "From mama and daddy too?" she asked, curling up with her back against his belly and feeling him wrap both arms around her little torso._

_ "From our whole family," Evander nodded. He kissed her head gently and closed his eyes, then jolted awake after having nodded off for a moment. No! He wanted to tell her something else, too! "Sparrow? Sparrow?" he whispered. But she was fast asleep, her tears gone and a small smile on her face._

Evander inhaled deeply and he slowly opened his eyes, but it still took a few seconds to orient himself. He was lying in his bed and there were the faint sounds of socializing coming from down the hall. His bedroom door had been left open, but he hadn't moved since lying down after his session with Antonia. He started to roll over but stopped when he realized that there was something in his arms. It was then that he noticed the strands of long golden hair in his mouth, and he spat them out.

"Sparrow?" he whispered, furrowing his brow in confusion. Sure enough, his sister had somehow nestled her way into his arms and was pressed up against him as tight as could be. There was a wet spot on her pillow, from drool or tears he might never know, but she looked so angelic that he couldn't help but smile. He stroked her hair, being as careful as he could so that he wouldn't wake her. With a very soft kiss on her temple, he wrapped his arms more snugly around her. "I'll keep them away. I promise," he said quietly.


	14. Chapter 14

_I wish that without me your heart would break  
__I wish that without me you'd be spending the rest of your nights awake  
__I wish that without me you couldn't eat  
__I wish I was the last thing on your mind before you went to sleep_

_Look, all I know is that you're the nicest thing I've ever seen  
__And I wish that we could see if we could be something_

_(Kate Nash)_

* * *

"Sparrow, you look lovely!" Antonia gasped when the blonde girl emerged from her dressing room, where she had just spent the last couple of hours being made over by her styling team.

Lennox followed Sparrow out with a huge grin on his face. "I take full credit for her! We practically had to sew the dress onto her body, it's so…intricate," he sighed and leaned back to examine his tribute for the umpteenth time. "She doesn't look too much like a dancer?"

The dress Lennox had designed for Sparrow was the most beautiful item of clothing she had ever seen, even more so than the goddess-like golden dress she had worn during the parade. It was covered in diamonds and silvery thread that made flower shapes, and every time the light hit her at a certain angle, she was bound to blind someone. The see-through skirt stopped at her hips and went off into feather-like strands, giving her the impression of some rare, exotic bird made of gems. She felt naked and was continually looking down at herself to make sure her underwear wasn't showing, but Lennox had done a perfect job of arranging the gemstones in patterns that hid just enough skin between her ribs and her thighs.

"I don't even want to think about how many people slaved over that," Antonia sighed and folded her arms, her large blue eyes stuck on the dress. It was one for the ages, that was for sure. "I'm sure you'll be the favorite designer of the night, Lennox. Yet again." She smiled and took Sparrow's hand. "You look absolutely beautiful, love. Do you feel ready?"

Sparrow made a face and shook her head. "I don't feel like it at all. I'm going to… trip over my feathers, or say stupid things…"

"Just don't forget your name. That's happened more times than you may think," Antonia raised an eyebrow. "Where's your brother? Don't tell me they made him a suit to match you."

Lennox giggled and shook his head. "Evander called for something much more simple. He's got much more appeal in other departments, we don't need to focus on his looks so much," he explained and went off to find Imogen, who was finishing up Evander's look for the evening in another room.

Sparrow's mouth dropped open a little and she felt like she had just been slapped. "'More appeal in other departments?' What am I, rotten meat?" She frowned and caught her reflection in a mirror. Her hair long and pin-straight, bangs hovering at her eyebrows, green eyes made even bigger with mascara and silvery white eyeshadow, plump lips a pastel pink…she looked totally different. A sense of déjà vu came over her, like when she had seen herself in the chariot outfit, and she felt like she was in someone else's body again. "So all I have going for me is my looks?"

Antonia pursed her lips and went over to the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Lennox is a hundred times better with his hands than his mouth. He tries his hardest, but he just…He isn't as sensitive as we are, because he's from here. But you and I, and Evander and Conall, we're all just from Five, what do we know?" She smiled faintly and kissed her cheek. "I was you not too long ago. The anticipation is far worse than the actual three minutes you spend up there. It feels like an eternity in purgatory, but once it's over, you'll feel the sweetest relief you ever will in your life. Well, besides when you win…Am I right, love?" She smiled warmly and patted Sparrow's back.

"Yeah, if good looks are what wins me sponsors…I might as well recite the alphabet when I'm up there," she mumbled, but her mentor was right. Antonia had to be right – she was the one who had done this before, and Sparrow was supposed to trust her and follow her advice. Besides, she was the smartest person Sparrow had ever met.

"Come on. Once your brother's done, we'll head down, okay? Just breathe deeply. You're not going to throw up or faint or say every curse word in the book, are you? No, you're just going to be you, and that's all anyone is asking."

* * *

"From District One, the brave and beautiful miss Carina Stavely!"

The first tribute had gone up to Caesar's stage, and though there were seven more kids to go before Sparrow would have to climb those awful stairs, she was trembling. Directly in front of her was the boy from Four, with his floppy brown hair, wearing a beige suit. She couldn't help thinking he looked like a bag of sand from the back. Her brain was going haywire and she couldn't focus on one thing for the life of her.

"Sparrow?"

Evander was right behind her, though, and that was keeping her from going completely ballistic. He looked concerned as his sister turned to face him. He had been dressed in a flattering white dress shirt and black vest with matching pants. He looked so much more normal than she did, and while a couple of other girls had creampuff-like dresses or obnoxiously-styled hair, none of them were being stared at. Everyone was looking at her – or maybe that was just her being paranoid.

"Sparrow, will you do my interview for me?" Evander whispered. They were ignoring Carina on the screen for the time being, while everyone else seemed to be watching the interview now, taking notes on how to go about their own. "I can't do this. I need to lock myself in the bathroom."

She smiled faintly and leaned back against the wall. "You want to trade? I think I could do a better impression of you than you could do yourself," she raised an eyebrow. Her heart rate began to slowly return to normal, and she was reminded that this was only an interview. The arena was tomorrow, and then she could allow herself to worry. Nothing here could hurt her, let alone kill her.

Evander shrugged and smiled, looking so cute and humble, like his usual self. "Probably. At least you won't be up there, wetting yourself, since that seems to be my thing."

A laugh came from Sparrow's lips and she surprised herself. "That's right! You're the sibling born without bladder control!"

"Shut _up!_"

The two Jacturnas looked toward the front of the line, and they saw Rex glaring at them. He cracked his knuckles, looking threatening enough with a black suit and blood-red shirt, but the angry expression on his face was enough to make them gulp and sheepishly retreat into silence.

Carina's interview ended with a vigorous round of applause and she returned to the room, giving a coy smile to Rex before heading back to her suite. Then it was Rex's turn, and the other tributes listened to the rest of the interviews in silence, with only an occasional whisper here and there. Even though he wasn't there, everyone felt intimidated by his explosion. He was the livewire of the group and no one wanted to cross him before the Games, for fear of being slaughtered by him first.

Rex was smug during his interview and had a smirk on his face the entire time, even when he came back to the waiting room. No one looked him in the eye as he returned to his suite and Valeria, the girl from Two, took the stage. She was relatively nice compared to her District One counterparts, and it was refreshing not to see a bloodthirsty Career for once. She made no secret of her ability to sneak up on someone.

The boy, Malin, was Sparrow's age. He was Valeria's cousin, and the audience seemed to feel some sympathy for that.

"Just imagine when they get to us," Evander murmured in his sister's ear. "Bet you there won't be a dry eye in the house."

"Or dry pants," she teased and gave a little smirk. "If you gotta go, I'd go now. Oberon would kill you himself if you were late for your own interview."

Aran, the boy from Three, was tall and limber and looked completely different from Reaping Day. Then, he had been wearing wire-framed glasses and looked like he hadn't had a haircut in years. Now he was wearing contacts and his hair had been shaved off, and he didn't look half-bad. He still spoke in a mumbled voice, and it was apparent that his new look had not changed his meek personality at all.

"Stella," Sparrow whispered once the small girl made it into the hot seat. She complimented Caesar on his pink outfit and hair, and then showed off her matching sparkly pink dress much to the audience's delight. They adored her.

"She reminds me of somebody," Evander murmured and nudged Sparrow with his elbow. "You see her?"

Sparrow watched the blonde young girl on the screen as she sat up straight, hands folded in her lap and her hair pulled into a neat bun. She looked like a princess, not like a little child who was being forced to fight for her life in a matter of hours. She bit her lip, knowing exactly who Evander meant. He was talking about her. Back when things were simple, and they were just a couple of kids. Four years had made a hell of a difference.

She reached down and took his hand in hers, and the two of them exchanged a look that said it all. Despite all this, they were still brother and sister first, and no Games were going to tear them apart. She had promised to fight for him, and he had promised to watch out for her. For all they knew, the Games would be over in a few days and they would both be headed home, and they would think, _How silly were we? Not trusting ourselves? We made it. We made it home, both of us, because nothing can tear us apart._

"Sparrow? It's your turn," Conall whispered in the blonde's ear, and she jumped about two feet in the air. Her eyes were wide as she looked at him and they stared at one another for a few seconds. She was a deer in headlights and he was a gentle giant, and while she wanted to slap him for causing her so much agony, it wasn't worth it. She needed him to guide her. "It's okay. We'll be here, all of us," he smiled reassuringly and motioned to Antonia, who was right behind him, and Evander.

Sparrow nodded, her eyes still the size of saucers, and with that she slowly made her way up to the stage.

"Sparrow Jacturna, the noble little sister from District Five! And here she is…the golden girl herself!"

Caesar's voice seemed surreal as he introduced her. For seventeen years Sparrow had been listening to him welcome tributes, and while him saying her name had always been a possibility, she had never expected it to really happen.

She was beautiful. Not to use a terrible cliché, but she was the star of the show so far, and would remain so. Tall and blonde and absolutely stunning; shining in the dress Lennox had created just for her.

"Sparrow, darling, you look gorgeous! My compliments to your stylist!" Caesar gasped and then smiled his usual dazzling grin. "But I believe it's you who makes the dress. Just as lovely as your parade dress, if not better."

"Thank you," Sparrow said softly, and she blinked as she heard her voice resonate throughout the auditorium. There were thousands upon thousands of people in the audience, and if she had any hope of finding Lennox's face in the crowd, it was gone now. Everyone was a weird, colorful blur. Some of these blurs could be her sponsors if she played this right.

"So how have you and your brother, Evander, been getting along? Are you teaming up or are you fighting during training?"

Sparrow crossed one leg over the other like her mother had always taught her. Sit like a lady. Back straight, shoulders back, hands in your lap, and always at least a hint of a smile on your face. Neutral faces were too easy to mistake for frowns, and Sparrow didn't want to come out as the "grumpy" tribute. But these people, this audience, the nation did not know of her multiple emotional meltdowns over the last few days.

They had no idea what it was like for her.

"We've been playing together since we were babies, so of course we stuck together for this," she replied, surprised at how calm and soft her voice was. Inside, she was trembling. "We're going to be a team until the very end, and hopefully we'll both come home intact."

The audience laughed, and it was all she could do to hold back a confused frown. Laughing? She hadn't meant it as a joke. Arriving home in pieces was her worst nightmare right now, and these people thought it was _funny_? She wasn't going to argue, not now, when the lives of her and her brother were at stake.

"Well, I hope you come back in one piece too, sweetheart," Caesar nodded and reached over to hold her hand. She was surprised to see such a kind gesture from someone whose job was to make kids likable before narrating their deaths. "It was so emotional when you volunteered for your friend back home. Your sister-in-law, correct?" He sighed as Sparrow nodded. "Thanks to you, she's going to have the baby and live a happy life. Do you realize how special that is? We've had tributes volunteer from non-Career districts before, of course, for varying reasons, but yours touched the nation as a whole. Am I right?" He gestured to the audience, who murmured an affirmative reply.

Sparrow could feel a lump growing in the back of her throat. Oh no, not again. Please not now. She only had three minutes to not cry and make a fool of herself, and here she was, getting worked up again. "It was the h-hardest, but...also the easiest decision of my life," she said quietly. "Hard to leave my family behind, hard to give myself up, but it was natural. I didn't even really think about it. I just knew that it was wrong for Aurelia to go, and I love her, and…I wanted her to be safe." Her voice was faltering now, and while it was having a great effect on the audience's emotions, she felt like an idiot. An idiot who couldn't make up her mind or control her feelings for three minutes.

"I'm sure that Aurelia and the rest of your family are so proud of you," Caesar whispered. He squeezed Sparrow's hand and smiled. "You're going to return to them in a few weeks and have a new nephew to hold, isn't that right?"

He was ignoring the fact that she had said that she _and _Evander were going to come home together. It was all or nothing. Her stomach began to hurt and she swallowed with difficulty. "Yes, I…I love them all so much," she whispered, blinking back tears.

"How have you been doing under your mentors? Conall Fletcher and Antonia Marsh were excellent tributes, I remember when they were sitting where you are now," the pink-haired host remarked in a much lighter tone. "It's a shame you can't talk about what went on during scoring! I would have loved to see what they've taught you that earned a ten!"

He was no longer Caesar. It was Conall sitting across from her, his handsome face even more so with that warm smile. He was chuckling, his voice deep, and his blue eyes were twinkling. He had a wedding ring on and Sparrow was unsure of whether he was laughing with her or at her.

"You think you can make things right? Making me into your boyfriend, protecting Evander, being the golden girl?" He shook his head and leaned in closer to her, his elbows on his knees, his large body dominating his seat. "Let me tell you something most mentors don't share with their tributes. Your life won't be any better even if you do win. Blood on your hands, death in your eyes, and suddenly the past seems so much better in all its mediocrity. Don't put too much hope in the future, Sparrow. It didn't help you get a fiancé, did it?"

His face kept flickering to Huxley's, which was eerily similar. Huxley had no stubble, his hair was lighter, and he looked less hardened than Conall. But it was Conall, Huxley, Conall, Huxley, Conall…Conall.

She was somehow walking from the stage to the waiting area. She didn't remember replying to Caesar or leaving the stage or hearing applause, but it must have happened and she was just too upset to realize it. She had only been going through the motions.

"Sparrow! Sparrow, that was great!" It was him. He was not the menacing figure who had warned her in her little hallucination; he was his happy, charming self. He furrowed his brow when Sparrow stormed past him, the bottom of her dress fluttering and flying out around her legs. She made it to the elevator before her ankle twisted in those cursed high heels, and she cried out as she grabbed onto a potted plant on her way down. Holding herself up with trembling arms, her ankle throbbing, she kicked her shoes off and started to cry. Not just little sniffles and the occasional tear, but she was wailing and whimpering, and the hours' worth of makeup turned into some sort of botched painting. The show was going on without her, and just when it seemed like no one was going to come tend to her, she felt a large pair of hands at her waist.

"Chin up, Sparrow," he whispered in her ear. He steadied her and then wrapped his arms around her torso. He pressed against her back and kissed her temple, brushing her sleek blonde hair aside before pressing his lips to her cheek. Her sobs turned to tiny, soft whimpers, and the tears fell from her round cheeks to her chest.

"I…I…I can't do this, I can't…breathe," she sniffled, her lower lip quivering. "I can't do this! I can't go home! It's me or him and I can't leave him behind!" She gasped for air and her tearful eyes widened when he spun her around and grabbed her face with both hands. His lips met hers in a warm, tender kiss that lasted much longer than the first one. And this time, he was kissing her.

"You can. You will. You'll see, Sparrow," he murmured and stroked her wet cheeks. "I trust you, and I know you're going to do the right thing." He kissed her lips again, and it was the best she had felt since Huxley had been alive. But this was Conall. They were different people, she realized that now.

He was what she had needed, but in a different way than expected.

"Give me one more," he whispered. "I need it. We both do."

So she leaned up on her toes and kissed Conall again. After all, she trusted him, and he believed in her. The least she could do was show her affection.

"Thank you," Sparrow whispered. She rested her cheek against his chest and closed her eyes, feeling all the anxiety slowly leave her body. "Thank you…Conall."


	15. Chapter 15

_He's waiting for you to call,  
__He will catch you and lift your head and breathe  
__On solid ground, He's there and waiting_

_Keep your head above the water  
__These waves are getting taller  
__Pulling you down, down  
__He will never leave you  
__Don't let this world deceive you  
__And bring you down, down_

_(He is We)_

* * *

"It's a shame you can't talk about what went on during scoring! I would have loved to see what they've taught you that earned a ten!"

Evander watched his sister on the television in the waiting area with a smile on his face. What had she been afraid of? She was a natural at this. The audience was laughing and crying and cheering along with her, and Caesar was bringing out the best in her. Only when she got a somewhat glazed look in her eyes did he start to worry.

"Well, I have two wonderful mentors for sure, and they've taught me a lot about the Games and how best to survive. I trust them with my life. I hope I make them proud, and everyone else back at home, too," Sparrow replied with a polite smile, but she looked a little out of it. Only someone who knew her well would realize when she was lost in thought, because she was usually so good at hiding it.

"We wish you and Evander the best of luck, miss Sparrow. I know that all of us will have an eye on you. I know you'll do your best to keep yourself and your brother safe." Caesar kissed the blonde girl's hand and helped her stand up, both of them taking a bow. The audience burst into loud applause and cheers for the girl from District Five, who was then taken back into the waiting area.

"Sparrow! Sparrow, that was great!" Huxley grinned, but he and Evander and Antonia all frowned when they saw how upset Sparrow was. She stomped past him, her heels loudly clacking against the floor. Evander reached out for her but he was being led onto the stage. It was impossible to help her, to comfort her like he had always done, because now it was his turn in the hot seat.

The women in the audience were screaming and squealing with delight; Evander was a favorite for them. With his boyishly handsome looks, his long and lean build, and that sweet, self-effacing personality, he was a hit with just about everyone.

"Evander Jacturna, from District Five! The other half of our super siblings," Caesar grinned. He led the very tall boy to his seat and looked from his eyes to his shoes and back to his eyes again. The audience cracked up as they realized how short Caesar was in comparison to Evander.

"I knew I shouldn't have worn the heels," Evander chuckled. His face was bright red – there was no hiding how embarrassed he was – but his humor came so naturally, one could ignore how nervous he looked.

"That's right! Well, we know we won't lose sight of you in the Games, will we? I think you beat everyone by at least a couple of feet!"

The crowd loved it. Evander was shuffling his foot anxiously, his hands folded in his lap as he tried not to fidget with any of his clothes. He could just imagine Aurelia at home, giggling at him as he turned into one of the hundreds of painfully shy tributes they had seen in the past years.

"I have to be tall so that my sister can keep track of where I am. She's the one that's saving my hide, anyway," Evander smiled. Dimples formed in his crimson cheeks and he leaned forward in his seat. "I don't think I can one-up her interview, though. She's a lot more…more sociable than I am…"

"Nonsense! You've got a new wife, don't you?" Caesar grinned. "Aurelia, who obviously loves you so much, as we saw at the Reaping. And you're expecting a baby any day now, aren't you?"

Evander's eyes brightened at the mention of his baby. In all the fuss that had surrounded training and parades and interviews over the last few days, he had hardly discussed his baby with anyone. But the little one was never far from his thoughts. "That's right," he said quietly, and it was impossible for him not to smile. Even if he didn't make it, his baby would be alive and well, along with Aurelia. "She should be here soon, hopefully…before I have to leave…"

Caesar leaned in closer to Evander, and this must have meant something big was coming, because the audience fell totally silent. "What if I told you she was here?" he whispered.

Evander's heart stopped beating for a few seconds and he felt his hands get clammy again. He wiped them on his pants and stared at the pink-haired man with huge blue eyes. "I-I…what?"

Caesar grinned and he nodded. He pulled out an envelope from beside his chair and opened it. "Born at 7:03 this morning, miss Eiko Jacturna. Six pounds, eight ounces, and twenty-three inches long. Aurelia and the baby are doing great. I got this news from the mayor of District Five this afternoon."

Evander's mouth was agape slightly, but he couldn't care less. Was Caesar telling the truth? Or was this all part of the plan to build sympathy for them and get sponsors? The look in Caesar's eyes told him it was true, every bit of it. He wouldn't be so cruel as to give a boy such false hope before his inevitable death.

"Eiko," Evander finally whispered. He smiled and leaned back in his chair. He had a daughter. "I wish I could see her…hold her…"

"I think you will, Evander," Caesar murmured and looked out at the audience, most of whom were sniffling or full-on sobbing. "You've got one more little fan out there rooting for you, isn't that right, everyone? We want to get Evander home to his family! I know that I won't rest until I see you hold her on the Victory Tour."

Sooner than he had expected, Evander was heading back downstairs. It was over, Moira was flitting up the steps for her turn, and he could breathe again. He went into the elevator with Antonia, where Sparrow and Conall were waiting for them.

"Sparrow?" he murmured and reached for his sister's hand. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Sparrow smiled and took his hand, squeezing it affectionately. "I got everything off my chest. I'm alright now, I promise," she laughed quietly and looked up at Conall. They shared eye contact for a brief, sweet moment, and Evander shrugged it off. He was still confused, but as they headed up to their floor, he realized that the worst was over. Come tomorrow morning, they would anticipate no longer, and be thrust into whatever sadistic world the Gamemakers had constructed for them. He almost preferred that to all this craziness. At least in the arena, he wouldn't have stylists and interviewers and sponsors and escorts hanging around him, all wanting a piece of him to make into whatever they wanted.

"Let's get into our jammies," Sparrow whispered in his ear once the doors opened and they were dropped off at their suite. She held his hand and led him down the hall, where she slipped into her bedroom and got out of her elaborate dress. She threw it onto the bed and walked over to her wardrobe, as naked as one could get.

Evander blushed and he closed the door before someone nosy like Lennox or Oberon could get an eyeful of his sister in her birthday suit. "Hey! Warn me before you do that!" he groaned and covered his eyes, humiliated.

Sparrow frowned as she pulled some underwear out of a drawer and put them on. The hair on her body hadn't even begun to grow back yet. "What? Suddenly you're afraid of me just because I don't have any clothes on? I remember taking baths with you until you were thirteen, and then you got weird," she raised an eyebrow. Still, her brother didn't look her way until she put on a loose-fitting black blouse. She sighed, put on some lounge pants, and sat down on the bed. "Come here. Please. I missed your interview, I'm sorry," she mumbled and watched him sit down next to her.

"Aurelia had the baby," he whispered, his cheeks pink. "A girl. She named her Eiko…They got the news from the district today and waited to tell me till my interview. I didn't think they would even bother with that…but I guess it would boost sponsors…"

Sparrow's mouth dropped open and she pulled him into a tight hug. "Evander! She had the baby!" She squealed and squeezed him with all her might, making him cough a little. "You're a daddy! I'm an auntie!" She pulled away, still beaming at him.

"You're really happy?" he asked, that smile still on his face from the interview. "I thought that…after Huxley…"

She bit her lip and slowly brought her hands down, placing them in his palms. "I am happy for you and for Aurelia. I want to see them so badly, the baby and Aura…I bet she looks like you. Those dimples," she smiled softly and stroked his cheek. "Just because I don't have what you have, doesn't mean I'm unhappy." She kissed his cheek and rested her head on his shoulder. "Now we _have_ to get ourselves home."

* * *

It was long past the interviews when Evander awoke with a start. He had fallen asleep in Sparrow's bed, still in his dress shirt and pants, and she had curled up into a ball next to him. A small spot of drool lay underneath her cheek and he smiled, shaking his head. Maybe it was childish and weird, but he slept better with her by his side. They had always worked better as a twosome than they did apart. He carefully got out of bed, trying his best not to rouse her. He picked up his shoes and jacket as he went to his own room so that he would stop making everyone suspicious, but as he opened the door, he heard voices down the hall. Hushed and serious, angry even.

It wasn't his nature to eavesdrop, but he was frozen when he heard the next sentence come out of Antonia's mouth.

"If you think I'm going to let her suffer the same fate I did, you're insane! And Snow sent you to talk to _me,_ of all people?"

He had never heard her sound angry before. It was almost terrifying.

"Miss Marsh, I'm here to discuss the deal with you. If you keep the girl alive and she comes out as the victor, President Snow has a plan for her. He did not specify what." It was a strange voice, a man's, sounding very official and blunt.

"You can take your plan and shove it—"

"Leave her alone!" Conall's voice, deep and threatening in its hushed tone. "I think it's best if you leave us all be. We've all suffered enough, the kids included. We aren't going to let you hurt her anymore. For God's sake, she's a girl!"

The strange man sighed and there was the sound of footsteps. He must have been on his way out. "One more thing," he murmured. The footsteps stopped. "If you do not agree to the president's plan, he will make sure that you never mentor again, and you will be of service to the citizens of the Capitol once more. You wouldn't want to go back to being a slave, now, would you, Antonia?"

Silence. The elevator doors closed, and then there was nothing. Antonia and Conall had not moved.

"Antonia, you can't do it again. They almost killed you. You risked your life to get out!"

"Then I'm going to do it again, but this time for her. I can't see another girl turn into me, Conall. Especially Sparrow."

_Sparrow_.

Evander had no idea what was going on, but when he crawled into his bed a moment later and heard the mentors go to their respective bedrooms, he knew he would not sleep a wink. His sister was in deep trouble either way the Games went.

* * *

_AN: Hello everyone, and happy holidays! I am off school until January 22 but will be on vacation celebrity-stalking in Los Angeles from the 2nd to the 12th. Hopefully I can get a few chapters up by time next semester begins! I hope you have enjoyed the ride so far, and I hope you stick around, because it's FINALLY going to get exciting! The arena is being mapped out and the alliances and enemies the Jacturnas are going to encounter are just waiting to be written down. Please be gracious enough to leave a review or two, and recommend this fic to anyone looking for a different kind of Hunger Games story! Love you all, thank you again! -Ree_


	16. Chapter 16

_They want to conquer you, abandon you.  
__I want to burden you, belong to you._

_So loud, so loud,  
__Slow down, slow hound._

_They want to think for you, pour drinks into you.  
__They want to look at you, while I look everywhere for you._

_So loud, so loud,  
__Slow down, slow hound._

_(The Antlers)_

* * *

Today was the day.

Sparrow was up and ready an hour ahead of time. Her long hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and she was dressed in a pale gray blouse, tough black boots, and black pants that were tight but still allowed her skin to breathe. She was trying not to analyze her uniform and deduce what kind of arena they were preparing her for, because even if she made a thousand guesses, it wouldn't help much. No use worrying about something she would be facing in mere hours. Before the sun set, she could be dead, and she didn't want to let that bother her any more than necessary.

"Here he is," Conall smiled when Evander walked into the main room. He stood up from the couch and patted his shoulder, whereas Antonia had been restless and refused to sit down. Evander sat next to his sister and the two shared a look as they saw one another in their identical outfits. Evander's pants were not nearly as tight as Aurelia's, but other than that they looked the same.

"Hi," Sparrow smiled at him. She put a hand on his knee, and he set one hand on top of hers. "Did you have a good night?"

He swallowed and returned her smile, then shrugged. "As good as can be expected, I guess," he managed a soft chuckle. So she had no idea about what he had overheard in the wee hours of the morning. He was unsure of whether that was supposed to make him feel better or worse.

"Remember, don't make a big deal out of getting weapons first. Don't hesitate, though, no matter what you do. If you want to grab something, grab the first thing you can get to and then leave," Conall advised them, looking from Sparrow to her brother. "Okay? Don't stop moving until you find some form of water or shelter. Preferably shelter by water, but who knows how lucky you're going to get? You could be thrown into a desert, or you could be underwater."

"That's comforting," Evander sighed. "Though I don't think we're going to get far underwater in what we're wearing."

Conall pulled up a chair across from the siblings. "Listen to me, please. Just promise me a few things. One, do not get separated. Two, avoid confrontation unless necessary. Three…we want you to win, and we believe you will. All of us." He looked back at Antonia, Lennox, Imogen, Oberon, and the styling teams.

"I know you'll do so well!" Imogen gushed and she went over to hug the two of them. "You shine like lights in the darkness!"

Conall rolled his eyes and smiled, shaking his head as Imogen returned to her spot beside Lennox. She sniffed and wiped one jewel-encrusted eye.

"Make us proud, please! And remember to stay the well-mannered boy and girl you both are," Oberon raised his eyebrows. "Sponsors don't like it when their tributes become all sloppy and uncivilized!"

"Uncivilized? Wouldn't want that in a fight to the death, would we?" Antonia murmured. She sighed and took Sparrow's hand, kissing it softly. "Come on. Let's go, before we're late and Oberon throws a fit."

Oberon glanced at his watch. "A few minutes early! Excellent!" He led the way to the elevator, followed by Lennox and Imogen, while the Jacturnas and their mentors joined them slowly. The elevator ride was awkward with everyone stuffed in there, but Sparrow felt her heart flutter when Conall reached for her hand. He held it and squeezed it reassuringly, and he did not let go until they were let out by the hangar. The stylists disappeared, to be taken on another flight, and now it was just the mentors and their tributes.

Antonia was much more reserved than she had been the last few days, and her goodbye to Sparrow and Evander was quiet. She hugged both of them and kissed their cheeks, having to get on her tiptoes to kiss Evander's.

"Come back to us, will you? I'm afraid I got attached," she laughed quietly. She smiled weakly and her lip quivered as a single tear fell from her left eye. "Trust yourselves, that's what'll get you through." She looked at Sparrow and sniffled before hugging her again. "I promise I'll make it right," she whispered in her ear. She patted her cheek and stepped back to let Conall say his goodbyes. Already, some of the other tributes were being loaded onto the jet.

"Evander…Sparrow," Conall smiled at the two of them. He put a hand on their shoulders and pulled them close. "Make us proud, okay? Remember what we've told you, but if something doesn't feel right, trust your gut. We're going to make sure you win this thing." He kissed Sparrow's cheek and patted Evander on the back.

Sparrow sniffed and she smiled, taking a deep breath so she wouldn't start crying. "Thank you both," she said in a soft voice. "I'll be thinking of you." She waved at them and walked with Evander towards the jet, leaving their mentors behind.

Once they got onto the jet, they sat next to one another and were buckled in. Evander nudged his sister as he looked down the row and saw a head of bright red hair.

"Moira!" Sparrow whispered, smiling at the girl from District Six. "How are you?"

The redhead smiled back and shrugged. "All things considered, I think I'm okay," she laughed quietly. She opened her mouth to say something else but stopped when a Peacekeeper came by with a rather large syringe. Moira winced and squeezed her eyes shut as her tracker was embedded into her skin, and Evander gulped when he realized he was next.

"Is…is that going inside me?" he blurted when the Peacekeeper stepped up to him. She gave him a look and took his left arm, putting the tracker inside him. Sparrow frowned when she saw tears forming in his eyes.

"Hey, it's okay. Now we know you aren't ever getting a tattoo," she smiled warmly and held out her arm. She distracted herself from the pain by looking over at the other various tributes who had already sat down, while the rest were still pouring in.

"I wonder where we're going," Moira whispered. She chewed on her lower lip and her pale blue eyes looked around the jet curiously. She met Milo's eyes as he was buckled in and given his tracker, and they didn't look away from one another the entire flight over.

* * *

"Evander," Sparrow murmured as they landed and were ushered into a single-file line. She stayed behind her brother and reached up to tap his shoulder. "Find water first. I'll get whatever supplies I can, and then I'll find you." She rubbed his shoulder briefly and then swallowed when they were dropped off in an intimidating maze of chrome columns and bars, with no windows in sight. Peacekeepers were everywhere, and a different pair of them flanked each tribute. The siblings were escorted down separate hallways, and that was when their blood began to race.

Evander was greeted by his stylist, a bench, and a clock. A clear glass tube was on the other side of the room and he swallowed as he realized just where that platform would lead.

"Hello there," Imogen smiled. She seemed to be in a permanent state of smiling thanks to plenty of facelifts. She patted him on the back with her well-manicured hands. "Here you are! This is the big day, hmm?" She pulled away and gave a soft sigh, looking him over. "Your outfit should keep you comfortable, and it's more durable than it looks. You can always make them into shorter pants, should you need to." She glanced at his black pants and nodded. She watched him while he stared at various parts of the room in awkward anticipation, shifting his weight from one foot to the other repeatedly.

_"Sixty seconds."_ The voice over the intercom was male, distorted, and it jarred Evander back to reality. Sixty seconds of assured life, and then he was up for grabs. He swallowed and looked at the tube. "D-do I go in there?"

Imogen nodded and looped her arm with his as they went to the tube. She sighed and looked him over once more. "Yes, yes. You'll be alright. We're all rooting for you," she assured him, still smiling. "Remember to stay warm and dry, and…and you'll be alright!" she repeated. Imogen was sweet but not very eloquent, much like Evander himself but with more facial injections.

_"Forty-three. Forty-two."_

He gave her a very nervous smile in return and jumped back a little as the tube opened. It was eerily empty and opened so fast, as if it were eager to swallow him up and deliver him to his untimely death. He put one foot on the platform but stopped short when Imogen's skinny hand grabbed his arm.

"Wait! I almost forgot," she whispered. She pulled something out of her breast pocket and slowly opened her hand to reveal a simple silver ring. "We got the tokens back after the Gamemakers reviewed them. Yours was safe, of course." She watched as he examined it, then slid it onto his fourth finger. "That way you'll have your wife in the arena, right?"

_"Twenty-nine. Twenty- eight. Twenty-seven…"_

He held up his hand and looked at the ring he had brought with him to the Capitol. It was his token and he would have been hopeless without it. "Yeah, something like that," he replied in his quiet voice. He exhaled slowly and stepped into the glass coffin. Imogen disappeared within a second and Evander was suddenly greeted by a warm rush of air with a very humid quality to it. It was so wet he could taste it.

_"Sixteen. Fifteen. Fourteen…"_

Tributes began to appear one by one, some of them in the last few seconds. Evander looked around for a tall girl with her blonde hair in a ponytail and found her about six spots to his left. She nodded, acknowledging him, and was poised and ready to go. Everyone else's toes were on the very edge of their platforms and their faces ranged from terrified to anxious to excited.

_"Four. Three. Two. One."_

The final syllable had just left the announcer's lips when everyone bolted from their platform. As expected, the Careers like Rex and Carina ran straight for the mouth of the cornucopia. Those who were smart enough to do so ran in the opposite direction, seeking to eliminate themselves from the competition for resources. Evander was one of these children. Within seconds, his gangly legs had carried him far away from the Cornucopia, but no distance could wipe out the horrible screaming and cries from the center of action.

Sparrow had spotted her axes since coming up for air. She put all of her strength into running for them, desperate to grab them before anyone else could. She narrowly dodged a spear thrown by Rex, who seemed to have it out for her. Her bangs fell in her eyes and she quickly blew them away, diving into the dewy grass and grabbing the pack of throwing axes. For a brief moment she congratulated herself on getting this far, and then it became too much. She had to get out of there. She hurried to stand up and her green eyes darted around the area quickly. Most of the weapons had been snatched up or were hopelessly out of reach, but there were still little backpacks with lifesaving items inside them. She ran and grabbed a large bag and two tiny ones, slinging them over her shoulders and then running for her life.

She followed where Evander had run less than a minute before and was already panting by the time she reached her first tree. It was nothing like the trees at home – it was tall and the wood was smooth, and the leaves were humongous. They shaded the area like umbrellas and the sun was only just peeking through the cracks. Still, the air was stagnant and wet, and combined with the heat it made for a dreadful atmosphere. It was like trying to run through a cloud.

"Evander!" she hissed when she came to a stop. She bent forward and put her hands on her knees, catching her breath while she waited for a reply. She heard some rustling in the brush nearby and her eyes grew wide when she saw it wasn't her brother. Instinctively she ran forward, the various bags she had grabbed slapping against her back. _It was so hot!_ At least a desert would have been dry, but this was the worst of both worlds. An environment like this had to have water, though, so that was a plus. She wished she had nature skills so that she could sniff out water – was that even possible? – but this would have to do. Evander couldn't have gone far, and he wouldn't have done anything but go in a straight line.

"Here," a familiar voice whispered from under a huge fern. Sparrow skidded to a stop and bent down to see her brother lying under the plant and she breathed a great sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank God," she sighed and reached for his hands. She helped pull him up and handed him the larger bag and one of the smaller ones. "Water. Let's go," she murmured, a thin film of sweat already having formed on her chest and her face.

"W-what about…Moira? And Milo?" Evander hissed back, as if whispering would help them stay hidden. Which it wouldn't, really.

"We have to go, Evander. They'll catch up," she replied. She could feel her heart thudding against her chest and her throat was drying up, despite how humid it was. "Let's go!"

They ran as fast as they could without losing one another; Evander was a far better runner but Sparrow had quicker reflexes. It felt like they had been going for hours when there was a boom. They both gasped and stopped in their tracks to listen. The first cannon had gone off, which meant the bloodbath was over.

One. Two. Three. Four. It kept going until the ninth cannon, and then there was an eerie silence. Birds called and grass rustled as they moved through it, but there were no human sounds. Now it was a very deadly game of hide and seek.

* * *

"Nine tributes dead at the Cornucopia, and that rounds out the first hour of this year's Hunger Games, ladies and gentlemen," Caesar recounted. Behind him on the television screen were the images of tributes who had already perished. Their names were absent; they were only identified by their district and the amount of time they had lasted. However, recaps of their deaths were shown a handful of times. The boy from Eight had died within the first two minutes, having stupidly gone for a weapon and had his throat slit by Carina's hand. The girl from Eleven, who had also been fourteen years old, had been the victim of a badly-timed fall and a sword to the back. Aran, the boy from Three, had been stabbed repeatedly while protecting Stella, who had managed to grab a bag half her size and escape the horrible scene. Moira's partner, a small boy of twelve. The boy from Nine. Both tributes from Twelve. The girl from Two, Valeria, had lost a very intense fight over a mace. The last tribute to die in the opening minutes was Milo's partner, whose stubborn nature had gotten her entangled with a certain relentless Career.

"Christ," Conall muttered. He stopped chewing on his thumbnail and looked over at Antonia, the two of them having been glued to the screen ever since they returned to their suite.

"They're okay, though," she replied. She patted his hand and gave him a small, reassuring smile. "They listened to us, and they're still alive. We got this far."

The television showed an aerial view of the arena. It was almost all green, every shade of it one could possibly imagine, except for a few steaks of blue that were connected to a thick line of gray. That, Claudius Templesmith said, was a particularly dangerous waterfall that had more to it than met the eye.

"But of course, not everything is as it seems in the Games," he said with his eyebrows raised. Caesar nodded in agreement. "As we've come to find out, Seneca Crane is a very capable Head Gamemaker. We shall see what sort of tricks he has up his sleeve for the Seventy-Second Hunger Games!"

"And see we shall," Antonia mumbled.


	17. Chapter 17

_Shut the door to the moon  
__And let the birds gather  
__Play no more with the fool  
__And let the souls wander  
__And bleed from the soul_

_A slow hurt, and it breaks us  
__And so down, down, down  
__And so plain, so down  
__When you play some more it seems so  
__And my friends are past this game  
__Of breakdowns_

_(The Swell Season)_

* * *

_"Sparrow," Huxley whispered in the young girl's ear, and he laughed as she rolled over and her arms flailed._

_ "I'm awake! I'm awake!" she gasped and sat up in bed. She rubbed her eyes and frowned at how messy she looked. "Who let you in here?"_

_ "Your mom and dad seem to approve of me." He wiggled his eyebrows, chuckling again. He sat beside her and the mattress groaned under the weight of his six-foot-plus frame. "So much, in fact, that they are leaving us alone…and unsupervised…"_

_ Her nose twitched and a delicate sneeze burst forth from it. He laughed and gently wiped her nose with his sleeve, watching her with the cutest smile on his face. She sighed, her cheeks red. "Hux, I've only known you for-"_

_ "A month! Which means marriage is just around the corner, right?" he teased, that ever-present twinkle in his eyes. He smiled and pushed her hair back from her face so he could kiss her forehead. "Anyway, good morning, sunshine. Care for some breakfast?"_

"...a bottle, and a box of matches. That's all that was in here. I guess it's better than nothing, huh?"

Moira's voice. She must have found them after Sparrow had fallen asleep, because now it was early morning and Sparrow was reminded of just how hungry she was.

"Morning," Evander smiled at his sister as she rolled out of her sleeping bag. They had been lucky enough to get one of those from the large bag Sparrow nabbed, so the deal was that they would trade off every night. "Did you sleep well?"

It had taken a long time for her to fall asleep, but the dreams of Huxley had been so welcome that she was still smiling a little. "Fantastic," she said softly. She wandered over to where he and Moira were sitting, poking at a pile of sticks that were being used as impromptu firewood.

"We wanted to wait until you woke up to make breakfast," Moira explained. "Also, Evander is a little scared to kill something," she said with a sweet laugh.

Evander's cheeks reddened and he twirled an unlit match between his fingers. "I don't know what we should eat. There's berries and figs, I guess, I don't know much about plants…I saw something hop around in the trees this morning but I don't know how dangerous it could be."

"Evander, it was a squirrel!" Moira was giggling, shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight that peeked through the palm trees. Even this early in the day, the sun that seeped through the leaves was sweltering. "Last I heard, squirrels weren't threatening!"

"I don't know about that," another voice that Sparrow recognized chimed in. She turned around to see Milo, who walked right up to Moira and sat next to her. The redhead blushed and smiled, subtly scooting closer to him. "You remember those crazy, um…what were they? Bats?"

"Yeah! The bats from a few years ago, they would like…grow to ginormous sizes and bite off people's heads?" Moira gasped. Her pale blue eyes widened and she seemed to melt as she listened to Milo talk about various mutts that had appeared in previous Games.

Sparrow smiled as she watched their two friends get lost in conversation together, she and Evander remaining quiet. Seeing Milo and Moira get lost in one another reminded them both of how things had been back home. Sparrow would spend night upon night with Huxley, the two of them laughing and playing and kissing until the sun came up. Aurelia would raise her eyebrows at the two of them and prod her best friend for details, but it never went beyond kissing and touching. "Second base," Aurelia would say with a wink. "So when are you gonna go all the way, huh?"

Sparrow only learned what second base was after she asked Huxley, and the answer had made her cheeks flush. He only snickered and ruffled her hair with one big hand. The idea of third base intrigued her, and of course the final step, which she wanted badly but never reached. Everyone thought they were "that kind of couple", as her mother would say, but it wasn't true. Sparrow wanted to wait until they were married, and Huxley respected that very much. That was part of why she loved him so dearly – he would never argue with her, never put her down, never push her to do anything she didn't want to do. She was his little birdie, as he called her. Birdie. The nickname would make her roll her eyes and smile, but she had to admit, it made her heart flutter in a way that nobody else could. And now he was gone. Gone before their third anniversary, gone before they ever reached third base. Well, there was that one time…

Not long before he died, Huxley had spent the night at the Jacturnas' house for the umpteen-hundredth time. Sparrow had gone upstairs to her own bed while he made himself comfortable on the couch downstairs. She lay in bed, totally restless and plagued with desires and thoughts she couldn't shake off, and it must have been an hour after climbing into bed that she slipped out of it.

_"Birdie?" Huxley frowned when he felt a hand on his cheek. He sat up on the couch and bit his lip; she was wearing a simple white nightgown, two sizes too small, and nothing else. He was taken aback as she crawled on top of him and her long hair rested in sunny pools on his chest._

_ "I can't sleep," she whispered. She tucked some hair behind her ears and cupped his face in both hands. Her eyes fluttered closed and she kissed his lips, tenderly and gently as always, but this kiss seemed different. It was deeper, more urgent, and her body language was communicating something much more than simple affection. Her waist pressed down against his lower abdomen and she made a soft whimper. "I want to sleep down here, with you…" Her body was warm and Huxley was suddenly aware of her sweet scent._

_ His quiet groan was muffled against her mouth and he broke the kiss, giving her a surprised look. "Sparrow, I—I don't know if I could stop—"_

_ "That's okay." Her voice was quiet and breathy; the rest of the house was asleep. Even Evander and Aurelia had gone to bed. "I don't want you to stop. I want to…I want…" It was getting harder for her to find the right words as she unbuttoned her top. Her breasts were suddenly there, begging to be touched, only veiled by the thin and worn-out fabric of her nightgown. "Please…"_

_ Huxley swallowed and it took every bit of resolve in his body not to give in. "You don't have to, Sparrow. Not like this. I want it to be perfect, for you…for both of us." He began to redo the buttons of her nightgown, missing one of them and having to start all over. "This isn't perfect. It's rushed, it's sudden, it's…it's because of Ev and Aura, isn't it?"_

_ She held his hands to her chest and sniffed quietly. "I just want what they have, Huxley…I want that with you…"_

_ "Come on, love," he murmured. He put her nightgown back together and scooted over so she could curl up next to him on the couch. He wrapped a large arm around her waist and kissed the back of her neck. "You don't have to prove anything to me. I know what we have together." He kissed her neck again and gently shushed her, and eventually she did fall asleep._

That night on the ratty old couch was on Sparrow's mind for the rest of the day. Even as the small group went out to find food and firewood, surviving some false alarms, she was only half-there. The other part of her was aching for Huxley, and she felt like she would never receive closure. She wasn't going to find any peace of mind out here in the jungle with only hours or days left to live.

That night, only one face flashed in the sky. It was the fourteen-year-old girl from District Eleven. Somewhere in her district, the girl's family would be crying and attempting to console one another. Their loss was inevitable; it had only been a question of when and how.

In the middle of the night, while her brother slept peacefully in the sleeping bag, Sparrow kept a tight grip on one of her throwing axes. It was another one of those nights that promised anything but sleep, and this time she didn't have anyone to comfort her. Evander had Aurelia in his dreams, the hope of returning home to her and their new baby, but Sparrow knew she would never find Huxley again. Even Conall, who had made things brighter for her, wasn't an option. She was surrounded by people – friends, strangers, mentors, an audience – and yet she had never felt so alone.

* * *

_AN: A short chapter, I know, but I really wanted to bring Huxley more into the picture. He is incredibly important in understanding Sparrow's character and, while the flashbacks might be getting annoying to some of you guys (sorry! I like to use them as plot devices!), they will play a major role in the Jacturnas' actions up until the epilogue. Trust me. The next chapters promise to be action-packed and there will be more Evander, Moira, Milo, and some appearances from less friendly characters! Thank you so much for reading! :')_


	18. Chapter 18

_I saw a savior, a savior come my way  
__I thought I'd see it at the cold light of day  
__But now I realize that I'm only for me  
__If only I could see you turn myself to me  
__And recognize the poison in my heart  
__There is no other place, no one else I face  
__The remedy, it will agree, with how I feel_

_(Portishead)_

* * *

A low rumbling in the earth woke everyone early the next morning. The sun had just begun to rise and a pinkish-orange glow was cast over the arena. Birds chattered in the trees above, sounding upset, and Evander's eyes widened as a large tiger-like creature ran by him. He expected to be eaten alive, but all the cat seemed interested in was running away.

"What's going on?" Moira asked in an alarmed voice. She clutched her tiny bag of supplies to her chest and looked at Milo, who had spent the night lying next to her, keeping watch. "What's happening? Are we dying?"

There was a series of screams that didn't sound too far off. Everyone's blood ran cold and they jumped to action not a second later. They grabbed their remaining supplies and ran in the opposite direction of the noise that grew more horrible with each step. It was a deep grinding, almost like a growl, and there were deafening snaps and crunches as trees split in half. The cries of animals and tributes alike echoed around them, like some sort of apocalypse was happening.

"What's going on?" Moira cried, sounding panicky. She held tightly to Milo's hand as they ran, Evander taking up the rear of the group.

Sparrow glanced over her shoulder and she turned pale. "Keep running! Just go!"

"Sh-shouldn't we…find high ground?" Evander asked, already breathless after they had been running for a couple of minutes. He looked up at the trees surrounding them and gasped as one snapped and nearly crushed them. "Oh!"

"Not unless you want to be smashed!" Milo interjected. "Come on, it has to stop somewhere! They're not going to let us all be buried at once!"

Sparrow's legs were burning as she forced herself to run. Her body was weak from only having one meal the day before and just when she felt she couldn't go on any longer, she tripped over a large root and fell face-first into warm water. Her first instinct was to scream, but she stopped when she came up for air and saw that they had found a lake. It was no larger than the kitchen at home, but it was welcome.

"It stopped," Evander announced as the others skidded to a stop by the edge of the water. The four of them were quiet, their ears peeled for any sign of the continuing earthquake. He was right – it was gone. Everything had fallen eerily silent. Two cannons fired. They finally turned back to see the destruction behind them. Palm leaves, massive tree trunks, and shifted earth lay in gargantuan piles at least two miles back. The dust was settling and a few birds dared to perch on the debris, poking around for food.

"That was close," Milo murmured. The group let out a collective sigh and he slumped against a rock, closing his eyes. "I think that calls for a break."

Moira smiled and curled up next to him, linking her arm with his. "Since we're here, I think we should clean up. Heaven knows the next time we'll get a chance to bathe," she wrinkled her nose and looked down at her clothes.

Sparrow was all too eager to feel the water on her skin and purge it of a couple days' worth of dirt and sweat. Maybe it was a bit shallow of her, but she couldn't stand being filthy for long. She peeled off her shirt, the fabric sticking to her torso before she tossed it next to her brother. Her pants came off next and she laughed as they landed on Evander's face. She was left only in her simple white underwear and bra, and her wet hair looked darker than its usual honey shade.

Evander couldn't help staring at his sister a little. She submerged herself in the water and he watched her distorted, half-naked frame until she came up and rubbed her eyes. The water stuck to her eyelashes and she blinked a few times.

"It's warm, but it's cooler than the air, at least," she said. She smiled at her older brother and waded around the small pool, the water having made her underwear translucent. Evander blushed furiously and forced himself to look away, embarrassed. He could feel Sparrow giggling at his prudishness. Maybe she was the more grown-up of the two; she certainly wasn't a little girl anymore.

* * *

Conall let out a deep sigh and he slumped over on the table, rubbing his eyes. As soon as he had seen the earth split open on the television screen, he had thought Sparrow and Evander were goners. He was confident of their ability to survive, but he still had some doubts. The only way anyone in District Five could know what they were was from the news – District Four had them more than anyone. But they had made it, and even with the boy from Ten and the girl from Six in tow.

"Cheer up, love. They made it out in one piece." Antonia rubbed his shoulders and smiled as he sat up. "That's it. See? They've got instincts."

The girls from Eleven and Nine had both died. The one from Eleven was crushed by a falling tree that had nearly severed her body right in at her midsection. The girl from Nine had fallen into the giant crack in the earth, and the hovercraft was having a hard time plucking her out of the ground.

Conall's eyes went from screen to screen as the different remaining tributes were shown, but his eyes lingered on the television that showed Sparrow. Her wet hair clung to her cheeks and dripped down her body as she climbed out of the water, and he knew he was staring a little too intently when Antonia nudged him.

"Quit your drooling, Fletcher, you're not being very mentor-like right now." She raised an eyebrow and took a drink of water, a little smirk on her lips. She sighed when someone tapped her on the shoulder, turning around on her bar stool to look at them. "Yes?"

"The president has some conditions for you," the Peacekeeper murmured, handing her a red envelope. He left just as quickly as he had appeared, and Antonia opened the envelope with a wary look in her eyes. Conall watched her, and they both pored over the letter's contents.

_Antonia Marsh –_

_ Your gifts and talents have been much appreciated by the Capitol and those of its citizens who have been fortunate enough to have you. Though you may be one of the more headstrong victors under our jurisdiction, you are still among the best at what you do. I am fully aware of what extents you have gone to in order to avoid fulfilling your duties to us, but as we both know, you cannot avoid them for long. What I am requesting of you is to return to what I shall call "active duty" and please many customers who have been eager to see you back on the auction block. You are in high demand, Miss Marsh, and if you can make me happy, I will ensure that Seneca Crane does not destroy your tributes within the next twenty-four hours. They are apparent favorites of the Capitol, but you know as well as I that popularity does not ensure success. See me immediately so that I will know what to do with the siblings from Five. Your cooperation is much appreciated._

The letter was unsigned, but the strong scent of roses was as much of a signature as was needed. Antonia swallowed and she gripped the letter tightly in her hand, the fancy paper crumpling against her palm.

"He can't touch them," Conall murmured. His blue eyes met Antonia's and he could tell she was livid. Antonia would never let Snow have his way without a fight. "He can't. They're smarter than he thinks."

"He knows everything, Conall. You and I know that better than anyone." She frowned and threw the letter into a nearby trash bin, slipping through the immense crowd of citizens and gamblers who had gathered to watch and bet on the Games. Her eyes went to the leaderboard, where each of the tributes' faces were shown along with their name, district, training score, and predicted chance of winning. Sparrow was at 1-8, while Evander was at 1-17. Maybe not the best odds, but it was better than any of her previous trainees.

Conall sighed and rested his elbows on the bar, his attention reverting to the television screens. He saw a flash of blonde hair and smiled to himself when he saw that it was Sparrow. She was standing by a pile of collapsed palm trees, her wet hair pulled into a messy bun, and pointing to something under the trunks. Her brother and the two friends they had made quickly went over to her, and it was then that he saw what everyone else was gasping and murmuring about. Pinned beneath a huge tree was the tiny girl from Three, her dirty blonde hair a matted mess, and there was no way she was getting out on her own.

* * *

"Help me! Please!" the girl cried, reaching her arm out. She couldn't move anything but her neck and her left arm; the rest was stuck under the tree. She had obviously been trying not to cry, but who knew how long she had been under there?

"Oh, my god! Okay! We can do this, right?" Moira looked around with wide eyes. "Guys?"

Milo gave her a wary look, his arms folded across his chest. "That tree has to weigh hundreds of pounds, Moira. Even with all four of us…it's gonna be tough."

The red-haired girl swallowed and knelt on the ground by Stella. "It's gonna be okay, I promise! We'll help you!" She squeezed the younger girl's hand and tried to reassure her with a smile.

"Will your axes help?" Milo turned to Sparrow, who was already rummaging through their things for something to help with.

"They're throwing axes, I mean…they're not really for chopping trees," she replied with a frown. "I can try, I guess. I didn't practice hacking away at anything, though."

"It's better than nothing, right?" Evander asked. He was already looking pale from the stress of the situation. Real and imminent danger wasn't his thing.

She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, making her way over to the trunk. Moira scurried out of the way and hid behind Milo as Sparrow brought one of her axes down on the tree. It made a sharp _chink_ and there was a good cut in the wood when she pulled it back out, but it was going to take a while. "Stella? Can you hold on for a little while longer? We're gonna get you out."

"I'm okay. I'm okay, yeah, I can wait," Stella nodded, watching Sparrow as she took another whack at the tree. She flinched when the sharp steel blade came down, as if it would go right through her, but Sparrow had excellent aim. After ten minutes the trunk was almost severed in half, and they would be ready to move it off of the young girl.

"Help me!" she called to the rest of the group, bending down to pick up one end of the trunk. The other three hurried to her side and all grabbed a section of the tree, and on her count they lifted. It was terribly heavy and everyone grunted and groaned with effort, but if they were to drop it Stella would be crushed. The little girl was remaining surprisingly calm as her life was literally in the hands of four strangers, and when they got it off of her it fell to the ground with a loud thump. A few of the nearby trees shook and some birds flew out of the leaves in terror.

"You're okay," Evander smiled as he knelt by Stella, who rubbed her back with one hand and crawled toward him. "It's okay now. Who were you with?"

"No one…My partner's gone, so I've been wandering by myself, and I got lost and I wasn't fast enough to get out of the trees," she answered, smiling as Sparrow began to gently pull leaves and dirt from her hair and clothes. "Thank you for getting me out. I would have been dead meat if you weren't here."

"Hey, so would we if we hadn't all found each other." Sparrow sat back and smiled, getting up and dusting her knees off. "I'm going to find some food for us, okay? You guys stay put."

"Be careful." Evander followed his sister with his eyes as she headed past the small lake, one of the axes still in her hand. The sun was high in the sky and it was as hot as it was going to get all day, and he didn't like the idea of her going off on her own. But he had to trust her, after all the times she had shown how good she was, right?

So why was he getting an uneasy feeling?


	19. Chapter 19

_Now I've tried to talk to you and make you understand  
__All you have to do is close your eyes  
__And just reach out your hands and touch me  
__Hold me close, don't ever let me go  
__More than words is all I ever needed you to show  
__Then you wouldn't have to say that you love me  
_'_Cause I'd already know_

_(Extreme)_

* * *

One time she ran all the way to the District wall.

An electric fence was out of the question for the district in charge of power; it would have been all too easy for them to disable it and escape. So the Capitol had decided to build a solid stone wall too high and too smooth for anyone to climb over. Most of the people of District Five had never seen what was beyond the wall.

The day that Aurelia and Evander announced their engagement, Sparrow ran for what seemed like an eternity. She was a sweating, panting mess by the time she reached the wall on the other side of town, and when her hands touched the rough surface she leaned against it to catch her breath. Her hair hung down in front of her face and she was alone. She slumped down onto her knees and scraped them on the gravel below. She was too exhausted to cry, so she just sat there in front of the wall with a dry throat and stinging eyes. Despite her best efforts, all she could imagine was the elated look on Aurelia's face. Evander held her from behind, his arms around her small curve of a tummy. They both had red cheeks and bright eyes, and Sparrow felt her heart stop when she saw the family wedding ring on Aurelia's finger.

"Congratulations," she had whispered. She gave them the most enthusiastic smile she could muster, hugged them both, and once the couple was distracted by their excited parents Sparrow bolted out of the back door. It was all she could do to prevent herself from exploding.

_"How was that?" Huxley grinned when he pulled away, his hands leaving Sparrow's flustered face. He chuckled when she blinked at him a few times, her eyes wide like she had just tasted some strange food for the first time and wasn't exactly sure what to think of it. "Oh, no, it wasn't that bad…was it?"_

_ She licked her lips and looked down at her hands, which were shaking ever so slightly. Her whole body was jittery, in fact. Heart thumping, hands clammy, breaths shaky – but it felt so right. "N-no, not bad. Not bad!" She gasped quietly, realizing that her state of shock was probably offending him. _

_ The truth was she had nothing to compare it to. Lips meeting another pair of lips, so soft and gentle as they collided in what people years upon years ago had decided to call a kiss. Warm mouths slowly opening for one another and allowing the slightest bit of access to tongues. Electricity, warmth, passion, tenderness._

_ "That was my first kiss," she admitted meekly. Her shy green eyes met his and she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear._

_ Huxley seemed relieved, but also like he had known all along that she would enjoy it. "Really? I find that hard to believe, miss Jacturna." He winked and cupped her face in his hands again. "Well, congratulations. That sealed the deal. You're mine now, little birdie."_

Now she was running again. The hot air of the jungle should have been drying her off, but the water from her rinse-off was only being replaced by sweat. The humidity was making her somewhat woozy and there was a small, dull pain in the back of her head. Still she gripped one of her axes in her right hand and her eyes vigilantly searched for any source of food nearby. Preferably some sort of animal, but she could try her luck with plants. Milo could confirm whether they were safe or not before they ate them.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught movement in a bush. She stopped immediately and had her axe at the ready, her senses heightened by the hunger pains in her stomach. Catching whatever animal was behind that bush could mean the difference between life and death for her and her allies, especially now that they had a fifth person. She took a deep breath and cautiously approached the bush, only to stumble backwards when a tall figure emerged. It was no animal. She recognized him as the quietly intimidating boy from Seven. Dark hair and eyes, with a face and shape that seemed more like that of a man than a teenager. He was larger and stronger and now the two of them had seen one another.

She wanted to forget it and run away, but if she went back to their camp, this boy would know where they were. Then he could kill them all, if that was what he wanted. Now she was faced with what she had been resolved to do from the start: defend herself and her brother.

He had a sword, a rather large one. He held it up and the two of them stood there frozen for a moment. He lurched forward and Sparrow gasped, her eyes widening in fear. She looked in a hundred different directions before deciding to go the opposite way of her group. The plants were harsh as they thwacked against her legs and she screamed in horror as she ran through a spiderweb. She flailed her arms in an attempt to get the terrible silk off of her body. Now he was gaining on her; she could hear him breathing as he ran and his boots hit the dirt below. His footsteps were faster than hers and she knew she was going to be caught eventually, unless some miracle happened. She was ready to duck behind a tree and bury her axes in his chest when there was the sound of falling.

"Sparrow!" her brother's voice called urgently. He had caught up to the boy from Seven and had him pinned to the ground for one lucky moment. "Go! Go, Sparrow!" He was panting from running so hard and all Sparrow could do was stare at him with her mouth agape. She finally regained her senses and ran back towards camp, leaving her brother and her pursuer behind. After a few moments she was spent and had to stop, leaning over and resting her hands on her knees. She turned around when she heard movement and almost tossed an axe, only to find it was her brother.

"Oh, thank God," she whispered. She went over to him and pulled him into a hug, kissing his cheek. "You saved me, Evvie! Look at you," she said with a smile. She pulled away to look at him, and that was when she noticed the blood. Her face fell and she turned as pale as could be.

Evander's lips turned up in a slight smile and his eyelids drooped, only to blink and open completely again, like he was trying not to fall asleep. "He got away," he murmured. "He got away from me, Sparrow…I…couldn't…"

A long, thick smear of dark red blood ran from his left shoulder to the middle of his torso and it was dripping through his shirt. He mumbled something Sparrow couldn't understand and then fell forward, landing in her arms and making her fall to the ground. A look of terror crossed her face and she pulled him into her lap, cradling his head in her arms.

"Evander! Evander!" Her lower lip quivered and she could hear the whimpers and groans coming from her throat. "Evander, no! No! You can't do this, you can't…You can't!" Her shirt and hands were covered in his blood and when she looked at her palm she screamed. They were perhaps a mile away from their friends and she had nothing but her axes on her.

This wasn't going to happen to her. Not again.

"_NO!"_

* * *

"Well, that's going to hurt their chances."

"Such a shame! I really thought he was going to last longer."

"Do we still bet on the girl? Or do you think she's going to off herself? That happened a couple of years ago too, didn't it?"

Conall's teeth were gritted and he slammed his fist down on the bar. Antonia was at his side once more, and the two of them were pale. Conall was getting more red in the face as he listened to everyone's chatter, however.

"He isn't dead! I assure you, he's going to make it," Conall said as calmly as possible, which wasn't much at all. His fingers dug into his palms as he spoke and it was hard not to explode at all of these people who had suddenly found it necessary to deride Evander as nothing but a weakling. "We have strong hopes for him and his sister both! And we need your help to make sure he lives!" He looked to Antonia for help; she was much better at remaining pleasant in the face of stress.

The waiflike woman rose from her seat and took an orange-haired lady's hand in hers. "Flora, I know that you've helped our boys and girls before. You were one of the generous donors who helped me survive my own Games, as I recall. You won't let us down now, will you?" She smiled, her soulful blue eyes quite convincing.

"Oh, I…I don't know, Antonia. That looks like an awful wound," the woman frowned as she looked back at the screens. Most of them were showing some angle of Evander in Sparrow's lap as the young girl peeled off her jacket and tried to stop his bleeding.

"Please, Flora. If Evander pulls through, he has a very high chance of winning. He and his sister need each other," Antonia coaxed her.

An older man with a curled mustache sighed and handed Antonia a large amount of money. "The wife says that's all I'm allowed to contribute during these Games. Use it wisely."

"Four hundred? That'll buy a goddamn box of matches," Conall grunted. Antonia nudged him in the gut with her elbow.

"That will help us, Grantaire. Thank you so much." Antonia gave the old man a polite bow and continued to look at the people who had surrounded them. Money was being shoved in her direction from so many hands that she was beginning to be overwhelmed.

"He needs medicine. The best there is. The next best thing we can hope for is stitches, and that Sparrow knows how to sew," Conall murmured. He watched Antonia count the money as it poured in from hopeful sponsors who had all been moved by the siblings from District Five.

"We need ten thousand for that," Antonia announced when she looked at the stand where sponsors could purchase items. The miracle medicine that Evander needed was one of the most expensive items, already at the steep cost of ten thousand after so little time in the arena. The only things that were more expensive were high-caliber weapons.

They kept counting as sponsors searched their pockets, scribbled in their checkbooks, and had their friends bring them more money. Three thousand. Forty-seven hundred. Sixty-two fifty. Nine thousand. So close…

"Here. I had planned on saving this for Valeria, but she's gone." A young man in a powder-blue suit handed Antonia exactly what they needed. "Best of luck to your tributes," he nodded, and with that he left the crowd.

"Oh my God," Antonia whispered. "It's…it's a thousand." She exchanged a look with Conall and he nodded, taking the money from her and heading for the parachute kiosk.

"The medicine," he said as he set the huge pile of cash on the counter. The concierge raised an eyebrow. "For District Five. And make it quick." He raised his eyebrows and left with both relief and worry in his heart – relieved that they had made the money, but worried that it might not work, or wouldn't be enough. All they could do was wait.

* * *

_AN: Hello, everyone! I've had a lot of snow days lately (yay college!) and have had a lot more free time to write. Bet you didn't expect another update so soon! Now that things are actually happening and the pace is a lot more exciting, I think it's safe to expect faster updates from now on :) I'm sorry to leave you on such a cliffhanger, but I promise to post again within the week! I am happy to announce my upcoming collaboration with the lovely kelsey731 on a Hunger Games story that will take the original book's premise and twist it into something new. We will keep you posted on how it's coming, so look for that soon! Please leave a review and let me know what's working and what might not be. I appreciate your input so much; it keeps me going! Love always, Ree :)_


	20. Chapter 20

_There is a child sleeping near his twin  
__The pictures go wild in a rush of wind  
__That dark angel, he is shuffling in  
__Watching over them with his black feather wings unfurled_

_The love you lost with her skin so fair  
__Is free with the wind in her butterscotch hair  
__Her green eyes blew goodbyes  
__With her head in her hands  
__And your kiss on the lips of another  
__Dream brother, with your tears scattered round the world._

_(Jeff Buckley)_

* * *

"Evander. Evander, wake up…please…"

The muffled voice sounded like his sister's, but as Evander struggled to wake up, it changed. Now it was a male voice, one that was so familiar. He frowned and opened his eyes, gasping when he saw none other than Huxley standing in front of him.

"There you are. I was hoping you'd get up soon," he smiled and crouched down beside him. He looked over Evander's chest and shook his head. "You really got a number done on yourself, didn't you? But hey, you're still here. Good job." He patted his shoulder – the one that wasn't injured – and sat down on the ground, his strong arms around his knees.

"Why are you here?" Evander murmured in confusion. "You're…not…"

"Alive?" Huxley raised his eyebrows, chuckling quietly when Evander blushed. "It's okay, you can say it. I'm not really here, but you're not crazy either. I was just dying to talk to you. Get it?"

Evander rolled his eyes as Huxley laughed again. He had always been the one to turn every situation around for the better. "So I'm just dreaming?"

"Just dreaming, don't worry. You're going to wake up soon enough, and I'll be gone. But you have to hear me first," the larger boy answered. "You saved her, Ev. She could have died, but you risked everything and saved her. Thank you."

Evander swallowed and rubbed his eyes, shaking his head. He had saved Sparrow's life, so why was he feeling guilty?

_"It's going to collapse!" A group of workers ran by the room in which Huxley and Evander were checking inventory. "You've got to get out, the structure's breaking!"_

_ The young men exchanged a look, both their faces turning pale. "That's what that noise is? What…what happened?" Evander frowned. His stomach lurched and he peeked out of the doorway, where the rumbling was getting louder and more intense. His throat ran dry and he looked down to see that his hands were shaking._

_ "No time to ask, we have to go. Let's go! Let's go, Ev, come on!" Huxley said in a surprisingly calm, firm voice. He wasn't shaking or confused or scared like Evander was; it was like he had been prepared for this from the start. The two of them ran towards the emergency exit, but they skidded to a stop when they saw it was blocked by rubble that was still settling. A few busted lights swung above their heads and sparks intermittently rained down around them._

_ "The main stairs," Huxley said, and Evander nodded in agreement. They ran in the opposite direction toward the main stairwell, where fallen beams and broken glass were scattered about in dangerous patterns. Screams and cries of desperation came from the basement they had just left, and there was a horrible crash. Evander stopped to look back only to see that part of the concrete stairs had collapsed and blocked the way out of the basement._

_ "Oh, God!" he gasped, eyes wide. Whoever had been down there still was now stuck forever – or already dead. "Go! Go!" he cried._

_ Huxley jumped over the gap in the stairs, grunting as he pulled himself up. "Come on, I'll help you up!" He reached for Evander's hands and soon both boys were safely on the landing. "Almost out. We'll be home before dinner," he panted, laughing amidst all the chaos. He waited for Evander to go in front of him and followed him up the stairs. They could see sunlight coming in through the open door just a dozen yards in front of them._

_ All was well for a few brief seconds, and then there was a deafening crash. Glass shattered and the floor shook as a huge slab of concrete floor fell from above. Evander turned around and he screamed as he saw Huxley pinned down beneath it all. His legs were crushed from the middle of his thighs downwards. He groaned and coughed violently, reaching a trembling arm up to shake glass and rocks out of his hair._

_ "Oh god, oh god, oh god…" Evander was close to vomiting as he knelt by his friend, and he knew it was useless to try and get him out. And he wasn't about to try and amputate his legs. "D-don't worry, Huxley, I'm…I'm gonna get someone to get you out, okay? I'm gonna…I'm gonna help…" The bile was rising in his throat and his eyes stung with fresh tears. He started to get up, his long legs scrambling to find their footing._

_ "No," Huxley whispered, coughing again and reaching for his arm. His grip was still strong. "Don't go. You get out of here, and you g-go home, alright?" He squeezed his eyes shut and grunted as more rubble settled, further burying his legs. "I need you to…I need you to take this…"_

_ Evander's vision was blurred with tears and dust and he sniffed. He had to get out soon, or else he would be crushed as well. He felt Huxley's hand touch his and drop something into his palm._

_ "G-give it to her…please. And tell her I'm sorry," he stammered, struggling to breathe. "I'm sorry for making her wait."_

_ Evander shook his head, refusing to believe this was happening. If they had just left a few seconds earlier…_

_ "A-and now…I'm waiting for her. Tell her that. Go on, now," Huxley said with a weak, but still sweet smile. He clasped Evander's hand and watched him get up, the light slowly leaving his blue eyes._

Oh yes. That's why.

"You still need to give it to her," Huxley said quietly and got up to look at Sparrow. She was asleep, her head resting on a pile of palm branches. He smiled, but there was a sense of longing and sadness in his face. "She needs that strength. I know she has it inside her, but she hasn't been the same since the accident. Everyone knows that." He knelt beside the sleeping young girl and his fingertips brushed over her forehead and temple with the gentlest touch. She mumbled something and shifted around, her lips pooched out and a bit of drool coming out of the corner of her mouth. Huxley grinned and he carefully wiped it away with his thumb. "She's taking care of you, like she always has. You have to keep doing it for her too, though. She needs you as much as you need her."

He kissed her forehead and he was gone.

* * *

Cool water touched Evander's skin and his eyes opened in surprise. He mumbled something unintelligible and looked around in confusion. He was back in his home, lying on the faded old couch, and his head was propped up in someone's lap. He looked up and his mouth opened as he saw long dark hair framing a round, wide-eyed face. She looked like a doll. "Aurelia?"

"Shh, don't strain yourself. You had an accident and were out for a while, but I made sure you were taken care of," she explained in a quiet voice. Her fingers caressed his face and she gave him a warm smile, which made him forget all about the pain in his chest. He sat up despite her quiet protests and groaned, seeing the bandages wrapped around his shoulder and chest.

"You did this? Wow…Very professional," he smiled. He reached up to stroke her cheek and kissed her soft pink lips. "What happened? I don't even remember, really…"

She sighed and eased him back down into her lap, where she stroked his hair. "You got yourself into some trouble sticking up for Sparrow. You shouldn't have done that, Evvie, but you did…Nothing gets between you and your sister, does it?" she laughed softly and shook her head. "As upset as we all are about what happened, here you are. And she's here too, safe and sound, thanks to you. But please, Evvie, don't do anything like that again. We can't afford to lose you."

A baby's cooing came from nearby and Evander sat back up, alarmed at the sound. His heart began to beat faster and he saw the old crib that their family had used for generations.

"Can I see her?" he whispered like a nervous, excited little boy.

Aurelia smiled and nodded, laughing a little. "She's your daughter, Evander. You have every right." She got up and pulled the crib over. "Come on, sweetheart, let's see your daddy!"

But before he at last could see his baby girl's face, the scenery changed entirely.

"Son of a—aaagh!" Sparrow gasped, and Evander was startled by the sound of a loud thump and his sister flailing around in the grass. She squealed and swatted her clothes wildly, her hair getting quite messy in the process. She sat up and caught her breath after a short moment, looking over at her brother and sighing deeply. "Spiders," she muttered, whimpering and looking around nervously, as if the little beast would come back with reinforcements. She looked down at her feet and then snapped back to her brother. "Oh my God! You're awake!" She suddenly forgot about everything else and scooted closer to her brother. "Are you okay? How's your wound? Jeez, you were out so long, I was worried, but I kept checking to make sure you were breathing every hour," she smiled, looking exhausted but relieved.

"I'm up," Evander whispered, and he grunted as he put a hand to his chest. There was no bandage, but when he pulled away the blanket she had draped over him, there was only a thin red line where a huge bleeding gash had been not too long ago. "How…How long was I out?" He took the water bottle she offered him and as he drank from it, the cool liquid soothed his body.

"Two days. They sent medicine not even an hour after you were hurt. I kept applying it and praying it would work, and it did," she smiled. She opened a metal jar and stuck her fingers inside, applying some light purple goo on his chest. Evander shivered, the cold medicine tickling him, and Sparrow laughed softly. "You better not get hurt anymore, we're almost out." She showed him the jar, which was nearly empty. "But I'm going to keep applying it until you're all better." She hugged her older brother and kissed his cheek.

* * *

Antonia returned to the fifth floor suite and kicked off her heels as she went to the dandelion-colored couch. She laid down and folded her arms underneath her head, looking much less stressed than she had been that morning.

"Yes?" Conall murmured and stopped watching the television to look at his co-mentor. "Everything go well?"

"I told him to go to hell," she announced with a proud little smirk on her face. "Our tributes have proven capable of taking care of themselves, and I don't need to be a slave for him or anyone else."

"And he didn't have you executed on the spot?"

"He doesn't do things like that, Conall. You know that. I'm sure he's got something coming for me, but for now…I feel good. Wonderful, even. I don't have Snow whoring me out, and I can sleep. I can _sleep_!" She sat up and poured herself a glass of wine, politely excusing the Avox who wanted to do it for her. "No thanks, love. I can do it myself."

Conall sighed and sank into his chair, his bulky frame taking up most of it. "God, I don't want to think about how he's plotting to destroy you."

"We all get what's coming to us, Conall." She took a long drink of wine and set down the glass before tucking her feet in and watching the screen. "Might as well make the most of our time while we have it. And I'm not going to let him own me a second longer."


	21. Chapter 21

_Can't help myself but count the flaws  
__Claw my way out through these walls  
__One temporary escape  
__Feel it start to permeate_

_We lie beneath the stars at night  
__Our hands gripping each other tight  
__You keep my secrets, hope to die  
__Promises, swear them to the sky_

_As it withers, brittle it shakes  
__Can you whisper? As it crumbles and breaks  
__As you shiver, count up all your mistakes  
__Pair of forgivers, let go before it's too late_

_(The Naked and Famous)_

* * *

"How is he?"

Evander opened his eyes to find Milo, Moira, Stella and Sparrow sitting around him talking quietly. He sat up and felt no pain, and there was no blood on his bandage. "I'm pretty good," he said with a smile.

Sparrow smiled back at him and she handed him a cooked piece of meat from a large bird they had caught earlier. "Eat up, we need to move. We've been here for a little too long, and they've probably seen our fire." She nodded at the pile of ashes nearby, which had a thin line of smoke rising from it.

Milo went to go pack their things and Moira followed him. Sparrow watched them talk, noticing how red Moira's cheeks were and how she kept smiling and giggling. Milo held a lock of her scarlet hair and kissed her forehead, and the small girl pressed herself against him. She missed feeling that way. She didn't want to think about what would happen when the two were separated. That was a kind of pain she wouldn't wish on anyone; she knew it all too well.

"Milo and Moira, sitting under a tree, almost k-i-s-s-i-n-g," Stella sang when she appeared at Sparrow's side. She grinned and looked up at the tall girl with those wide brown eyes that had seen far more than anyone her age ever should.

"Yeah, yeah. Maybe we should leave them alone," Sparrow teased and she patted Stella's shoulder. She gave the lovebirds one last look and led Stella back to Evander, who was peeking under his bandages.

"It's like nothing ever happened," he said in awe, showing the girls the faint red lines where he had been gushing blood mere days before. "Amazing, isn't it?"

Sparrow nodded. "Well, we have some great sponsors." She was tempted to wink, like she had just remembered she was on camera. All of this was, uncensored. And whatever she did, that was what she was going to be remembered for, when they played recaps of the Seventy-Second Hunger Games. She had to make sure that whatever she was remembered for, it would be good.

* * *

"Seneca."

Seneca Crane turned around to see the president himself standing in the control room. He left the Gamemaker he had been speaking to and went to Snow's side, ready to grant his every request. "Yes, President Snow?"

The old man licked his puffy lips and looked at the large display in the middle of the room, which showed the locations of the remaining tributes. "I need you to speed things up. There hasn't been any excitement for days. The girl that was sick died, such a shame to watch a pretty girl vomit her own blood, but we haven't seen real bloodshed in ages. I thought I chose you for this position for a reason. You don't want to let a nation down in your first year as Head Gamemaker…do you?"

The young man swallowed and looked down at the map of tributes. There were twelve tributes left – only half of them had died in the first week. It was nothing compared to the usual bloodbath that previous Gamemakers had provided.

"We aren't supposed to be bored, Seneca. Do your job. I think District Five needs to learn a lesson." Snow had waited for a quiet moment to exact his revenge on Antonia for defying him, and here it was. "At least one of those siblings has to die eventually, don't they?" He raised his white eyebrows and then was gone, the scent of roses and blood lingering in the air.

Seneca gulped and slowly headed down the stairs so he was in the middle of the room. His eyes wandered the map, following each little number as they moved around the projection. He paused at the two fives, which never strayed far from one another. That had been consistent since the first day.

"I need a muttation attack at the east end of the river. Pen them all up in this stretch here," he commanded as his hands moved across the screen. "Break the dam. Bring in a storm. Whatever you've got to do to start a party, do it."

* * *

They had been walking for half an hour when thunder rumbled in the distance. It sounded like a cannon had sounded at the same time, but they couldn't be sure. Stella looked up at Sparrow, who in turn was looking at the sky. Gray was peeking through the canopy of leaves instead of blue, and the leaves rustled as birds flocked to a safer place.

"Great," Milo sighed. He pulled the blanket out of the bag, which he had volunteered to carry, and offered it to Moira. "Keep yourselves covered. It sounds like it's gonna be a nasty storm."

"Thank you, Milo." Moira gave him an affectionate look, smiling warmly at him. "Stella, come here. You can fit under here, too." She held up the blanket and made sure the little girl was protected by it as well. The three of them followed the Jacturnas, who had their eyes peeled for any incoming threats.

Muffled thunder rolled again and they waited for the rain to pour or lightning to strike. Nothing came yet. The wind blew for a moment, and everything was eerily quiet.

"Weird," Evander mumbled. He looked at his sister, who had furrowed her brow. She slowed down and the rest of the group followed suit. Something was off.

"Sparrow?" Moira asked, her voice soft and tinged with worry. "What's the matter?"

The blonde held up her hand as the rumbling seemed to move closer. That wasn't what thunder sounded like. Either the acoustics in the arena were off, or -

"That's not thunder." Milo's face was pale and there was fear in his voice. Before anyone could reply, there was a horrible roar from some nearby bushes. Stella screamed and clung tightly to Moira, who dropped the blanket.

"Oh, _god_!" Moira cried, and she slowly backed away. Milo had been right in that it wasn't thunder. Staring at them was a huge animal that came up to Moira's shoulders, and must have weighed as much as all of the kids put together. Its eyes were red with dark pupils, and when it opened its mouth all they could see were bloodthirsty fangs. The fur that covered its enormous body was colored with alternate stripes of black and beige. It looked like an extremely large, demonic cat. And it had friends.

The group was paralyzed in terror as more and more of the creatures emerged from the scenery. There had to be at least seven, and they were all growling and slowly approaching them. Their noses twitched at the smell of flesh and blood, and then the rain began.

"Just go," Sparrow hissed, and she slowly reached for her throwing axes from her backpack. "Go! _Go!_"

Milo broke into a run in the opposite direction, the two smaller girls close behind. The girls were whimpering and screaming as the tiger mutts ran after them, and it was a miracle they didn't slip on the muddy jungle floor. The rain was pouring and it was like swimming through a never-ending sheet of water. Milo could hardly see in front of himself, but he let his legs take charge and lead the way – to what, he had no idea, but it was better than being mauled to death. "Come on! Come on, don't stop!" He continuously looked over his shoulder to see Moira and Stella, both drenched but still close behind him. He wanted to stop, to get Evander and Sparrow, but he knew they would make it. Stopping was not an option.

"Milo!" Moira cried, and she grasped his hand. Stella was right at her side, her short blonde hair sticking to her face from the rain. The redhead held tightly to Milo and they skidded to a stop as the ground gave way to a river. The rain was still pouring and the water was rising. Sticks and dirt rushed by in the water, which seemed to be ripping things out of the ground.

"There's no way we can swim across that," Stella panted, her arms around Moira's waist. The girls looked back to see whether Sparrow and Evander had caught up to them yet, but there was no sign of them.

Sparrow was in fact trying to lure the mutts away from the others, taunting them and holding out her axes as they tried to pounce on her. She was soaked to the bone from the rain, her clothes clinging to her body and her skin visible underneath the worn-down fabric. She shook the wet hair out of her eyes and threw an axe right into the head of one of the mutts, an involuntary battle cry escaping her lips. She ran to it and yanked the axe out of its head, slitting its throat for good measure. "That's right, you bastards! I'll kill all of you if you touch us!" She was possessed by some force that was buried inside of her, that had been sleeping for all these years. She had power and she wasn't hiding it anymore.

Evander stared at his sister like she was a completely different human being. Often he would see Careers display this sort of brutal strength, unflinching as they killed for food or murdered another tribute, but his sister was doing what he should have been. He was her older brother, and he should have been protecting her. But here she was, getting drenched in the dark blood of tiger mutts, mud, sweat, and rain, and he was not scared of her. He was proud. If he wasn't going to be strong enough for the both of them, she would. He had already almost died defending her. They both had to protect each other – it was her turn now.

"Find them! Find Milo and Moira and Stella!" she screamed after lighting illuminated the scene. She had come a long way from the happy, innocent young girl who jumped into Huxley's arms when he came to visit after work. She wasn't the unsmiling, quiet girl who spent her days crying over her lost love, either. This was Sparrow Jacturna, District Five tribute. Warrior. Defender. Very likely winner of the Seventy-Second Hunger Games. And Evander could not have dreamed of a better ally, by birth or by choice.

The last mutt was slayed and Sparrow wiped the blood and matted fur from her axes with her shirt. The sharp blades made long tears in the fabric and she stuffed her weapons back into her bag. "Let's go. We have to find them," she nodded to her brother. The rain had not let up, but there was at least some more sun than there had been a few minutes ago. A cannon boomed and birds shrieked at the sound. Now they were running faster, hoping against all hope that hadn't been for one of their friends.

Evander swallowed and ran with his sister to the river's edge, where Milo was carefully climbing into the water. He held tightly to one of the boulders in the river and sighed with relief, looking to the two girls who waited at the riverbank.

"Halfway there, come on. You can do it, Moira!" He smiled to the redhead, hoping to coax her into the water. "Just hold on to my hand and I'll get you across. Hold tight!" He reached for her hand and his muscles bulged as he helped to pull her into the river.

Moira whimpered and she held her breath as the water rushed over her, leaving dirt on her pale skin. "I…I can't swim, Milo," she blurted, spitting out some water. Her lower lip quivered and she gasped as he kept pulling her.

"Just push yourself to me! Come on, we're almost there…Hold on to me. I'm not going anywhere," he murmured. "I'm right here, love."

Their eyes met for one sweet, brief moment and as she eased her way towards him, Milo yelled in pain. The dirty river ran red and Moira screamed, letting go of his hand. Blood poured from his other hand and when he looked to Moira, she was gone. The only sign of her was her red hair rushing down the current.

"Shit! Oh, shit! Moira!" Milo gritted his teeth as he pulled the arrow out of his injured hand, throwing it away. "Moira! No!"

"Milo! Help!" Her voice was small, fading away as she was swept down the river. There was no sound except for the rushing of water, and then a terrible scream. A cannon. Silence again.

The others were pale as they looked at one another. Milo clung to the rock, hanging his head. His hand was bleeding profusely but he clearly didn't give a damn. He had lost something – someone – much more valuable.

"Milo, we…we'll get across the river," Evander blurted, his hands trembling. "We'll find who shot the arrow, a-and… we'll get them…" He started to reach for him so they could begin the swim to the other side, but stopped when the other boy looked up.

"I can't," Milo muttered. His eyes were bloodshot and he shook his head. "I can't do it. You win this, for me. For her." He swallowed and then let go, and Stella cried out when the river swept him the same way it had taken Moira. A few moments later, there was another cannon.

Sparrow squeezed her eyes shut and wrapped her arms around Stella, cradling the little girl and sniffling. In less than a minute, they had lost almost half of their group. The rain began to slow down and when she next looked up, it was nothing but a light drizzle. Evander was sitting at the edge of the river, his arms wrapped around his knees.

"Come on. Let's go," she whispered, slowly getting up. She helped Stella to her feet and held tightly to her hand as the three of them approached the now-passable river. It was almost cruel that they were wading across to safety, while Milo and Moira had died trying to do the same thing. They could have made it, if Milo had not been shot. Sparrow's insides burned at the idea. _This was someone's doing._

They had found a small cave a couple hours later, and after Sparrow had checked it for any inhabitants, they decided to spend the rest of the evening there. They laid their things out on the floor to let them dry, and Stella spent the night cuddled up next to Sparrow. They sat quietly until the anthem started, and Sparrow went to look out the entrance of the cave.

The boy from Two. The boy from Four, which was surprising. He couldn't have drowned; the mutts or some other horrible thing must have gotten him. Moira, a hint of a smile even in her tribute photo. The gangly girl from Seven. The song ended and the images vanished. There was no Milo.

He was still alive.


End file.
